Reuters - Before the Bell

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Thursday, July 20, 2017

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.

Shares rise, euro near 14-month high ahead of ECB

LONDON (Reuters) - World shares hovered at record highs on Thursday, as a cautious-sounding Bank of Japan lifted Asian stocks to a near decade peak and Europe bet on an incremental increase in confidence from the European Central Bank at its latest meeting.

BlackBerry wins right to sell secure messaging tools to U.S. government

TORONTO (Reuters) - BlackBerry Ltd said on Thursday it has won the right to sell tools for encrypting phone calls and text messages to the U.S. federal government, garnering an endorsement from the National Security Agency for the products.

Craft brewer targets Nigerian palates and big brands

ABUJA (Reuters) - From pale ale with tangs of passion fruit and mango to a heady stout with 10 percent alcohol, a pioneering craft brewer in Nigeria is seeking to expand and grab more of a market dominated by Heineken and Diageo.

Australian court rules in favor of indigenous group in Fortescue mining land case

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia's Federal Court has ruled in favor of an indigenous Aboriginal group's claims over land used by Fortescue Metals Group to mine millions of tonnes of iron ore in Western Australia's Pilbara region.

Turkey's Simsek says no probe of Daimler, BASF, welcomes German investment

ANKARA (Reuters) - Press reports that Turkey is investigating Germany's Daimler and chemicals giant BASF are "completely false", Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Simsek said on Twitter on Thursday, adding that Ankara welcomed German investors.

Air France unveils new airline, Joon, in bid for younger passengers

BERLIN (Reuters) - Air France's lower cost airline, aimed at restoring some routes to profitability and attracting new and younger customers to the carrier, will be called 'Joon'.

Futures flat as investors await earnings deluge

(Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures were little changed on Thursday, a day after all three major indexes closed at record highs helped partly by technology stocks, while investors remained optimistic about earnings.

ABB CEO faces pressure to improve profitability

ZURICH (Reuters) - ABB Chief Executive Ulrich Spiesshofer faces pressure to tackle lower profitability at the Swiss engineering company, after higher raw material prices and overcapacity issues dented its quarterly earnings.

India's Jet Airways cutting junior pilot pay to trim costs: sources

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Jet Airways , India's second-largest airline by market share, plans to slash pay of dozens of its junior pilots by as much as 50 percent in a cost-cutting move that could impact up to 400 pilots, according to two sources and letters seen by Reuters.