Reuters - Before the Bell

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Friday, December 15, 2017

CSX CEO Hunter Harrison takes medical leave amid rail overhaul

(Reuters) - CSX Corp said on Thursday its Chief Executive Officer Hunter Harrison was taking medical leave, an announcement that comes amid of a controversial turnaround plan at the No. 3 U.S. railroad that has drawn customer criticism and scrutiny from regulators. The Jacksonville, Florida-based railroad said Harrison, 73, was taking a leave of absence due to unexpected complications from a recent unspecified illness.

Let board do its job finding successor, Airbus CEO urges staff

PARIS (Reuters) - Airbus Chief Executive Tom Enders, who is stepping down in 2019, urged employees on Friday to allow the board to pick his successor without being distracted by speculation about who would replace him.

Stock futures recover from tax bill concerns

(Reuters) - U.S. stock markets were set to open higher on Friday, recovering from a bout of uncertainty surrounding the passage of the Republicans' much-awaited tax overhaul bill.

German military kicks off heavy lift helicopter competition: source

BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany's top military official has approved plans to buy 45 to 60 new heavy-lift helicopters in a competition valued at nearly 4 billion euros that will be decided between the two largest U.S. weapons makers, a source familiar with the decision said.

Venezuela's PDVSA begins making delayed bond interest payments

CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA said late on Thursday it had begun the process of making interest payments on four of its bonds, asking investors to trust the company's "financial capacity" following repeated payment delays.

Oil prices edge up on North Sea pipeline outage, falling stocks

SINGAPORE/LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices edged up on Friday, lifted by the Forties pipeline outage in the North Sea, ongoing OPEC-led production cuts and a decline in global stocks, although rising U.S. output kept a lid on markets.

Some Canada firms could move to U.S. amid NAFTA worries: survey

OTTAWA (Reuters) - More a quarter of Canadian firms could move part of their operations to the United States amid uncertainty over the future of the NAFTA trade pact, the nation's export credit agency said on Friday.

Global shares limp toward third week of gains, dollar hobbles

LONDON (Reuters) - World shares fell on Friday and the dollar slipped against major and heavyweight emerging market currencies, as nagging uncertainty about a U.S. tax cuts package dovetailed with broad-based end-of-year caution.

Ryanair to recognize unions in historic shift to stop strike

DUBLIN (Reuters) - Ryanair has offered to recognize pilot unions for the first time in its 32-year history in a last-minute bid to stop its first-ever pilot strike from taking place later on Friday.

Tesla largely responsible for slide in U.S. home solar sales: report

(Reuters) - After years of double-digit growth, home solar installations in the United States are poised to fall for the first time this year, according to a report released on Thursday by GTM Research.