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Thursday, July 20, 2017

Wall St. set to open higher on earnings optimism

(Reuters) - U.S. stock indexes looked set to open higher on Thursday, a day after all three major indexes closed at record highs, as investors waited for earnings to sustain the rally in technology stocks.

U.S. jobless claims fall to near five-month low

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits fell more than expected last week, touching its lowest level in nearly five months, suggesting another month of strong job growth.

Bill Gross warns of recession risk if highly levered economies hike rates

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Highly levered domestic and global economies including the United States, which have "feasted" on easy monetary policies in recent years, cannot withstand a normalizing of short-term interest rates without running the risk of a recession, influential bond investor Bill Gross of Janus Henderson Investors warned on Thursday.

Murdoch made to wait few more weeks for Britain's Fox-Sky decision

LONDON (Reuters) - Rupert Murdoch will have to wait a few more weeks to know whether Twenty-First Century Fox's bid for Sky will be referred for a lengthy British investigation.

Exclusive: U.S. Cardinal Health puts $1.5 billion China business on block - sources

HONG KONG (Reuters) - U.S. drug distributor Cardinal Health has put its China business up for sale, drawing keen interest from state-backed Chinese pharmaceutical firms in a deal that may be worth up to $1.5 billion, sources familiar with the matter said.

Abbott raises full-year profit forecast

(Reuters) - Abbott Laboratories on Thursday raised its full-year adjusted profit forecast as the diversified healthcare company gains from its $25 billion acquisition of St. Jude Medical.

Citigroup says may need to create 150 jobs in EU due to Brexit

LONDON (Reuters) - U.S. bank Citigroup said on Thursday that it may need to create 150 new jobs in the European Union to deal with the impact of Britain leaving the bloc, as it confirmed it would headquarter its EU trading operations in Frankfurt.

Exclusive: U.S. bank card companies to seek licenses to operate in China in months

HONG KONG (Reuters) - U.S.-based payment card companies, including American Express , MasterCard and Visa , are preparing to submit license requests to operate in China within months, according to three people with direct knowledge of the matter.

Oman Air in talks with Airbus, Boeing to expand wide-body fleet to 25 jets

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Oman's national airline is in talks with planemakers Airbus and Boeing to expand its wide-body fleet to 25 jets and hopes to conclude the deal in the next two to three months, its chief executive said on Thursday.

Sears to sell Kenmore appliances on Amazon

(Reuters) - Sears Holdings Corp said its Kenmore brand of home appliances would now be available on Amazon.com , sending the struggling retailer's shares up 7 percent in premarket trading on Thursday.