Bank of Mexico to cut interest rates for first time in five years

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico’s central bank said Thursday it was lowering its benchmark interest rate by a quarter-point to 8%, citing slowing global economic activity and tensions including the trade war between the United States and China.

The drop from 8.25% was reportedly the first rate cut by the Bank of Mexico in five years.

In a statement, the bank said “the risks that the global economy faces have increased” and also mentioned commercial disputes, the “disorderly” Brexit process and deterioration of “some political and geopolitical risks.”

It added that uncertainty persists over the U.S.-Mexico relationship as well as downgrades to ratings of state oil company Pemex and sovereign debt.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average had its biggest single-day drop of the year on Wednesday amid mounting fears of a possible recession and weak economic data from Germany and China.

Earlier this week, analyst Alfredo Coutiño of Moody’s Analytics forecast only “mildly positive” GDP growth of 0.5% for Mexico this year.

“However, if investors remain reticent, the economy could report no growth or even a mild contraction in 2019,” Coutiño wrote.

U.S. to sell $7 bln of TIPS next week

Aug 15 (Reuters) – For details of the U.S. Treasury’s planned auction of Treasury Inflation Protected Securities, see:

here

US STOCKS SNAPSHOT-S&P, Dow rise as U.S. retail sales data counters recession fears

Aug 15 (Reuters) – The S&P 500 and the Dow gained ground in a late rally on Thursday as upbeat retail sales data offset recessionary fears and simmering U.S.-China trade tensions.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 99.9 points, or 0.39%, to 25,579.32, the S&P 500 gained 7.02 points, or 0.25%, to 2,847.62, and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 7.32 points, or 0.09%, to 7,766.62. (Reporting by Stephen Culp)

Applied Materials Q3 Results Beat Street

Chip equipment maker Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT), Thursday reported third-quarter earnings and revenues that were above Wall Street expectations.

Santa Clara, California-based Applied Materials’ third-quarter profit dropped to $571 million or $0.61 per share from $1.02 billion or $1.01 per share last year.

On an adjusted basis, earnings for the quarter dropped to $0.74 per share from $1.04 per share last year.

Sales for the third quarter dropped 14% to $3.56 billion from $4.16 billion last year.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters estimate earnings of $0.70 per share and revenues of $3.52 billion for the quarter.

“Applied Materials is delivering solid financial performance in a market environment that remains challenging for the time being,” said Gary Dickerson, president and CEO. “We are excited about the company’s future opportunities and are fully funding our R&D programs to develop new products and capabilities that will accelerate customers’ roadmaps and underpin our growth in the years ahead.”

Looking forward to the fourth quarter, Applied Materials expects net sales to be about $3.685 billion, plus or minus $150 million adjusted earnings of $0.72 to $0.80 per share. Analysts currently estimate $0.75 per share and revenues of $3.64 billion.

AMAT closed Thursday’s trading at $47.16, up $0.45 or 0.96%, on the Nasdaq. The stock, however, dropped to $1.22 or 2.59% in the after-hours trade.

Dillard’s Q2 Results Miss Street, Shares Sink 14%

Shares of Dillard’s Inc. (DDS) plunged about 14% in the extended session Thursday after the company’s second-quarter results missed Wall Street analysts’ estimates.

Little Rock, Arkansas-based Dillard’s second-quarter loss widened to $40.7 million or $1.59 a share from last year’s loss of $2.9 million, or $0.10 a share.

Revenues for the quarter fell to $1.46 billion from $1.50 billion in the year-ago period.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had estimated loss of $0.70 per share and revenues of $1.49 billion.

Comparable store sales decreased 2% against a 1% increase a year ago, while retail gross margin declined 319 basis points of sales.

DDS closed Thursday’s trading at $56.59, down $2.17 or 3.69%, on the Nasdaq. The stock further dropped $8.07 or 14.26% on the NYSE.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. in hospital following a fiery plane crash

NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt Jr. who has escaped dozens of crashes on speedways and racetracks, survived another crash Thursday, this time involving an airplane.

According to TMZ, the part-time racer turned NBC Sports analyst is in a hospital in Tennessee after the 10 seat, twin-engine Cessna Citation Latitude he was a passenger in caught fire after crashing at Elizabethton Municipal Airport in Carter County, Tennessee.

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Officials have told TMZ that Earnhardt made it off the plane alive while other sources are adding that he was transported immediately to a nearby hospital and his current condition is unknown.

Earnhardt’s family — wife Amy and their one-year-old daughter Isla — was on the plane with him and Earnhardt's sister Kelley Earnhardt, tweeted: "I can confirm Dale, Amy & Isla along with his two pilots were involved in a crash… Everyone is safe and has been taken to the hospital for further evaluation."

Story developing, updates to come.

Nvidia Q2 Earnings Beat Street, Shares Up 6%

Shares of Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) gained over 6% in extended session on Thursday after chip designer’s second-quarter earnings beat Wall Street estimates, as did revenues.

Santa Clara, California-based Nvidia’s second-quarter profit dropped to $552 million or $0.90 per share from $1.10 billion or $1.76 per share last year.

Adjusted earnings for the quarter dropped to $762 million or $1.24 per share from $1.21 billion or $1.94 per share last year. On average, 27 analysts estimated earnings of $1.14 per share for the quarter.

Nvidia’s revenues for the quarter dropped 17 percent to $2.58 billion from $3.12 billion last year. Analysts had a consensus revenue estimate of $2.54 billion for the quarter.

“We achieved sequential growth across our platforms,” said Jensen Huang, founder and CEO of NVIDIA. “Real-time ray tracing is the most important graphics innovation in a decade. Adoption has reached a tipping point, with NVIDIA RTX leading the way.”

Revenue from gaming, Nvidia’s largest business, declined 27% to $1.31 billion, while data-center revenue slipped 14% from a year ago to $655 million.

Nvidia’s gross margin for the quarter dropped to 59.8 percent from 63.3 percent last year.

Looking forward to the third quarter, the company expects revenues of $2.90 billion, plus or minus two percent. Analysts currently estimate revenues of $2.97 billion for the quarter.

NVDA closed Thursday’s trading at $148.77, down $1.30 or 0.87%, on the Nasdaq. The stock, however, gained $9.41 or 6.33% in the after-hours trade.