Reuters - Before the Bell

Click to View in Browser

Thursday, February 1, 2018

Equities battle rising global bond yields to snap end-Jan losing streak

LONDON (Reuters) - European stocks rose on Thursday after three days of losses, although U.S. and German bond yields near multi-year highs checked gains in world stock markets and kept them from testing recent record highs.

U.S. pork demand strong, but trade disputes could hit exports

CHICAGO (Reuters) - American consumers are snapping up plentiful low-cost pork, but U.S. farmers are worried that trade spats with key export markets in China, Mexico and Canada could hurt a lucrative part of their pork business.

Bitcoin skids to lowest since November after worst month in three years

LONDON (Reuters) - Bitcoin, the world's largest cryptocurrency, skidded 9 percent on Thursday to its lowest level since late November, as a Facebook ban on cryptocurrency adverts and a growing regulatory backlash against the nascent market rattled investors.

Futures slip after Fed strikes hawkish tone, Microsoft dips

(Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures were slightly lower on Thursday after the Federal Reserve raised its inflation outlook and flagged "further gradual" interest rate increases, and Microsoft shares dropped despite its strong quarterly report.

Blackstone posts higher fourth-quarter economic net income

(Reuters) - Blackstone Group LP , the world's largest manager of alternative assets such as private equity and real estate, said on Thursday that its fourth-quarter economic net income rose 5 percent year-on-year to $850 million.

Shell poised to dethrone Exxon in oil titans' cash clash

LONDON (Reuters) - Royal Dutch Shell could usurp its largest rival Exxon Mobil as the energy sector's biggest cash generator after higher oil and gas prices combined with an improved performance lifted its 2017 revenue.

Insurers gingerly test bitcoin business with heist policies

NEW YORK(Reuters) - Major global insurers are starting to offer protection against cryptocurrency theft, willing to tackle daunting challenges it brings rather than miss out on this volatile and loosely regulated, but rapidly growing business.

Factbox: Notable cryptocurrency heists

(Reuters) - There have been at least three dozen heists of cryptocurrency exchanges since 2011. Here are some of the major and other noteworthy hacks:

Alibaba revenue jumps 56 percent, buys stake in Ant Financial

(Reuters) - Alibaba Group Holding Ltd , China's biggest e-commerce company, reported a 56 percent increase in third-quarter revenue, beating analysts' expectations as the firm shrugged off any concerns about a market slowdown.

Facebook forecasts rising ad sales despite dip in usage

(Reuters) - Facebook Inc offered reassurances to investors on Wednesday that its digital ad business would remain highly profitable, despite a dip in usage on the social media network and an overhaul of its flagship News Feed.