India floods: Monsoon rains destroy homes and farms

One MP says more preventive measures are needed to help save lives and property.

Thousands of people in the southern Indian state of Kerala have lost their homes and livelihoods after weeks of heavy rain.

The monsoon rains triggered floods and landslides across India, killing at least 270 people.

Al Jazeera’s Alexi O’Brien reports.

Calls for crackdown on illegal eel smuggling from Europe

Legal eel farmers in Europe are pushing for a clampdown on gangs smuggling the fish to Asia in massive quantities

Europe is at the heart of an illegal wildlife trade operation worth an estimated $4bn.

Wild eels are being smuggled by gangs to Asia in massive quantities.

Now there are calls from legal eel farmers in Europe for a clampdown on the illicit syndicates.

Al Jazeera’s Nick Clark reports from Volendam, the Netherlands.

Gold Holds Above $1,500 Ahead Of Fed Minutes

Gold prices fell slightly on Wednesday but held above the key $1,500 an ounce level, as investors await the Fed’s July policy meeting minutes later in the day and a speech by Fed chairman Jerome Powell at an annual gathering in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, on Friday for possible clues on further U.S. interest rate cuts.

Spot gold declined 0.45 percent to $1,500.76 per ounce while U.S. gold futures were down 0.35 percent at $1,510.55 an ounce.

After cutting interest rates by 25 basis points last month, Fed Chair Jerome Powell suggested that the rate cut should not be seen as “the beginning of a lengthy cutting cycle,”.

However, CME Group’s FedWatch tool currently indicates a 95 percent chance of another 25 basis point rate cut in September.

President Donald Trump wants the Fed to cut rates by 100 bps and restart QE to boost the economy.

Meanwhile, traders largely shrugged off Trump’s anti-China rhetoric. Trump said on Tuesday that he had to confront China over trade even if it caused short-term harm to the U.S. economy “because Beijing had been cheating Washington for decades”.

Shares of Teva up 3% on positive migraine trial

Shares of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries TEVA, +4.47% rose 3% in premarket trade Wednesday after The Lancet published results from a late-stage study showing that patients on the company’s migraine treatment Ajovy, also known as fremanezumab, experienced a significant reduction in migraine days when compared to patients on placebo. The trial, dubbed FOCUS, looked at 838 people who had unsuccessfully tried two to four other classes of preventive migraine treatments. They were randomly assigned to receive either a placebo or one of two dosing regiments of Ajovy. During the 12 weeks after the first dose, those on Ajovy saw a statistically-significant reduction in the monthly number of days with migraines, researchers found. "Migraine can be debilitating for patients — and frustrating for those who have failed multiple preventive treatments," said Joshua M. Cohen, the head of Teva’s migraine & headache segment. "We continue our clinical trial efforts in the area of migraine research and we are very pleased with the FOCUS results." Ajovy is already approved in the U.S. and Europe for the preventive treatment of migraines in adults. Shares of Teva have fallen 54.5% in the year to date through Monday. The S&P 500 SPX, -0.79% has gained 15.7%.

Analog Devices’ stock slumps after earnings beat expectations but outlook was mixed

Shares of Analog Devices Inc. ADI, -0.79% slumped 2.1% in premarket trading Wednesday after the chip maker reported a fiscal third-quarter profit and revenue that beat expectations, but provided a mixed fourth-quarter outlook. Net income for the quarter to Aug. 3 fell to $362.4 million, or 97 cents a share, from $408.6 million, or $1.08 a share, in the same period a year ago. Excluding non-recurring items, adjusted earnings per share declined to $1.26 from $1.51, but was above the FactSet consensus of $1.22. Revenue fell 5% to $1.48 billion, but topped the FactSet consensus of $1.45 billion, as industrial, consumer and communications segment revenue beat expectations while automotive revenue missed. For the fourth quarter, the company expects adjusted EPS of $1.22 plus-or-minus 7 cents ($1.15-$1.29), compared with the FactSet consensus of $1.29, and revenue of $1.45 billion +/- $50 million ($1.40 billion-$1.50 billion), while expectations are for $1.49 billion. Chief Executive Vincent Roche said "these uncertain times do not seem to be abating in the near term," but stressed that the company has navigated macroeconomic challenges before. The stock has run up 28.5% year to date through Tuesday, while the PHLX Semiconductor Index SOX, -0.54% has run up 29.8% and the S&P 500 SPX, -0.79% has gained 15.7%.

Sensex tumbles 268 points; Tata Motors tanks 9%

The broader NSE Nifty too ended 98.30 points, or 0.89 per cent, down at 10,918.70.

Illustration: Uttam Ghosh/Rediff.com

Benchmark equity index Sensex slumped 268 points on Wednesday, dragged by losses in ITC, HDFC, L&T and ICICI Bank as investors remained wary of an economic slowdown.

After plunging 305 points, the 30-share Sensex settled 267.64 points, or 0.72 per cent, lower at 37,060.37.

It hit an intra-day high of 37,406.55 and a low of 37,022.52.

The broader NSE Nifty too ended 98.30 points, or 0.89 per cent, down at 10,918.70.

During the day, it swung between a high of 11,034.20 and a low of 10,906.65.

Tata Motors was the biggest laggard in the Sensex pack, plummeting 9.29 per cent, followed by Yes Bank at 8.21 per cent.

Other losers included Tata Steel, ONGC, IndusInd Bank, SBI, L&T, ITC, Vedanta, HCL Tech, ICICI Bank and M&M, which declined up to 4.26 per cent.

Hero MotoCorp, Infosys, Tech Mahindra, HUL, Bajaj Auto, Maruti, NTPC and HDFC Bank bucked the weak market trend, rising up to 1.78 per cent.

Globally, markets are keenly awaiting comments from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, US.

Investors will also be tracking the G7 Summit during August 25–27 in France.