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Swedish Match and Philip Morris International said Thursday they are dissolving their joint venture in the sale of smokeless tobacco products outside Scandinavia and the U.S. The 50/50 business was set up in 2009 and most recently sold products in Canada, Russia, Israel and Malaysia. The companies will now pursue independent strategies, according to a statement. The news came as Philip Morris reported better-than-expected second quarter profit and sales. Shares were up 1.7% in premarket trade.

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From:: Stock Market News

Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. rose 1.7% in light premarket trade Thursday, after the cigarette seller beat second-quarter profit and revenue expectations. Earnings grew to $1.89 billion, or $1.21 a share, from $1.85 billion, or $1.17 a share, in the same period a year ago. Total revenue fell 11% to $18.76 billion, while revenue excluding excise taxes declined 12% to $6.9 billion. The results were above the FactSet EPS consensus of $1.13 and revenue consensus of $6.75 billion. Cigarette shipment volume slipped 1.4% to 219.8 billion units, including a 1.1% drop in sales of its top Marlboro brand. For the full year, the company expects adjusted EPS growth, excluding the negative effect of currency movements, to be toward the upper end of its projected range of 9% to 11%. Separately, Philip Morris and Swedish Match said they dissolved their smokeless joint venture. Philip Morris’s stock had lost 2.7% over the past three months through Wednesday, while the S&P 500 has gained 0.1%.

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From:: Stock Market News

By Cindy Barth

Orlando ranked as the eighth-worst market in the U.S. for foreclosure filings during the first half of 2015, according to a new report from RealtyTrac.

There were 14,065 foreclosure filings in Orange, Osceola, Lake and Seminole counties during the six-month period — about 1.07 percent of Central Florida homes. RealtyTrac counted new lawsuits, judgments and repossessions as foreclosure filings.

Eight Florida cities posted first-half foreclosure rates among the 10 highest: Tampa, No. 2 with 1.22… …read more

From:: biz journal foreclosures

By Brian Bandell

Foreclosure filings dropped significantly in South Florida during the first half of 2015, but the region still had the sixth-highest foreclosure rate, according to RealtyTrac.

There were 28,409 foreclosure filings in the tri-county area during the six-month period, a 30 percent drop from the same time a year ago. RealtyTrac counted new lawsuits, judgments and repossessions as foreclosure filings.

With 1.15 percent of South Florida homes picking up a foreclosure filing in the first half of 2015,… …read more

From:: biz journal foreclosures

Former U.S. President George H.W. Bush, 91, is recovering after breaking a bone in his neck, according to news reports Thursday. Bush was injured late Wednesday when he fell at his home in Kennebunkport, Maine. “His condition is stable — he is fine — but he’ll be in a neck brace,” Jim McGrath, a spokesman for Bush, wrote in a Twitter post. Bush was being treated at the Maine Medical Center in Portland. Late last year, the U.S.’s 41st president was treated for shortness of breath for about a week in a Houston hospital.

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From:: Stock Market News

European Union regulators have opened two formal antitrust investigations into Qualcomm Inc. over its baseband chipset business, the European Commission said Thursday. One will look at whether the U.S.-based chip maker offered financial incentives to customers in return for using Qualcomm as their exclusive supplier of chipsets, which are used in 3G and 4G devices such as cell phones. The second probe is investigating whether Qualcomm used “predatory pricing”, in which goods are priced below cost to drive competitors out of the market. “We are launching these investigations because we want to be sure that high tech suppliers can compete on the merits of their products,” said Margrethe Vestager, the EU’s competition commissioner, in a statement. A number of U.S. tech companies, such as Google, have come under antitrust scrutiny by the EU since Vestager was appointed as commissioner in November. Qualcomm said in a statement it was “disappointed” to hear about new formal investigations, but said it has been cooperating with the EU regulators and will continue to do so.

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From:: Stock Market News

Here are the latest trading levels for Asia’s major stock markets:

Tokyo (Nikkei Average ) up 0.5%
; Hong Kong (Hang Seng Index ) down 0.2%
; Shanghai (Shanghai Composite Index ) down 0.3%
; Sydney (S&P/ASX 200 ) up 0.7%
; Seoul (Kospi ) up 0.2%
; Taipei (Taiex ) flat

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From:: Stock Market News

Chinese shares suffered further heavy volatility Thursday morning, with Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index and the Shanghai Composite Index swinging sharply between gains and losses in early trade. Half an hour into the session, the Hong Kong benchmark was up 0.1%, while the Shanghai index was down 0.3%, with the latter having opened 1.6% lower and then briefly enjoying modest gains before falling back. Financials were among the leading decliners on the Hong Kong market, where Haitong Securities Co. and China Everbright Ltd. lost 2.1% each, and Bank of Communications Co. fell 1%, though London-based HSBC Holdings PLC rose 0.4% on the back of Greece’s passage of austerity measures required for a new bailout agreement. Mainland Chinese industrials also suffered, with BYD Co. down 3.3% and Zoomlion Heavy Industry Science & Technology Co. off 2.1%. Over in Shanghai, notable decliners included Dongfeng Motor Group Co. (down 3.1%), Sany Heavy Industry Co. (down 2.2%) and some of the energy shares (PetroChina Co. down 2.6%, China Petroleum & Chemical Corp. (Sinopec) down 3.6%), likely reacting to a pullback for crude-oil futures overnight. On the upside, China Eastern Airlines Corp. surged 7.4% in Hong Kong and rallied 4.3% in Shanghai after saying strong demand and weaker oil prices would result in a sharply higher first-half net profit. Hong Kong-listed real-estate names also saw some scattered gains, with Sino Land Co. up 0.7%, China Vanke Co. up 0.9%, and China Overseas Land & Investment Ltd. up 1% after announcing its sales results for June.

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From:: Stock Market News

Australia’s stock market sat broadly higher in early Thursday trade, with strength in the heavily weighted banking shares offsetting losses for some of mining and energy names. The S&P/ASX 200 was up 0.9% about 45 minutes into the session, outpacing gains for the other early-opening Asia markets. With the passage of new austerity measures in Greece bringing that country closer to a fresh rescue deal with its creditors, the financial majors were solidly higher, with Australia & New Zealand Banking Group and National Australia Bank Ltd. up 1.3% each, Commonwealth Bank of Australia up 1.1%, and Westpac Banking Corp. up 1%. Bourse operator ASX Ltd. rallied 2.3% as Morgan Stanley said the company was unlikely to lose its monopoly over cash equities clearing, according to Dow Jones Newswires. Among the miners, Rio Tinto Ltd. was flat after posting quarterly gains in iron-ore and bauxite output, but a drop for copper. Shares of BHP Billiton Ltd. edged 0.1% lower, while Fortescue Metals Group Ltd. lost 1.4%, but Oz Minerals Ltd. and South32 Ltd. added 0.9% each. In the energy sector, Woodside Petroleum Ltd. fell 0.7% after reporting quarterly revenue almost 47% lower than the year-earlier period, while a pullback for crude oil helped send Beach Energy Ltd. down 0.8% and Santos Ltd. down 0.6%, even as Oil Search Ltd. rose 0.8%.

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From:: Stock Market News

Japanese stocks shuffled higher in early Thursday transactions, with financial shares on the rise after Greece approved new austerity measures needed to secure fresh rescue funds. The Nikkei Average and Topix were up 0.4% apiece, though off their opening highs, with Mizuho Financial Group Inc. up 1%, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. up 0.8%, and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. up 0.6%. The yen weakened overnight, with the dollar at ¥123.90 after spending the previous session in the mid-¥123 range, though the big exporters were broadly mixed. TDK Corp. rose 1.1%, Kyocera Corp. added 1.2%, and Toyota Motor Corp. improved by 1.7%. However, Nissan Motor Co. edged 0.2% lower as the Associated Press reported the auto maker was recalling approximately 270,000 vehicles globally due to issues with the ignition, while continued worries about the extent of Toshiba Corp.’s accounting scandal helped to push that stock 2.3% lower. Recent gainers Sony Corp. and Panasonic Corp. also lost ground, down 0.2% and 1.9%, respectively. Meanwhile, a heavy drop for crude-oil futures tormented the energy stocks, with Japan Petroleum Exploration Co. down 1.5%, Inpex Corp. off 2%, and Showa Shell Sekiyu K.K. lower by 1.6%.

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From:: Stock Market News