CitiGroup Ties In Former Vice Chairman McQuade to Its Board

Wall Street is expecting higher profit for Citigroup when the company reports its second quarter results on Thursday.

Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) has announced that former chief executive of one of its Citibank unit, Eugene M. McQuade, has officially joined the board. Mr. McQuade served as vice chairman Citigroup for over a year before retiring from the bank around May, this year. Simultaneously, he joined XL Group, insurance and reinsurance company, as chairman.

In 2014, McQuade was persuaded by Citigroup CEO, Michael Corbat, to stay and delay his retirement to help the largest investment banking financial institution in the world in the deal with the bank’s effort to sail past the Federal Reserve’s annual stress test. The bank cleared that test in March this year, giving it the green signal to increase its dividends for the first time after the financial meltdown.

In explaining his decision to rope Eugene, Mr. Corbat describes, “Gene brings a wealth of expertise from his deep experience in banking, but at the same time also offers continuity of knowledge in the capital planning process.” The appointment has increased the number of members of Citigroup’s board from 13 to 14.

Meanwhile, Citigroup is due to announce its second quarter results tomorrow, Thursday, July 16^th 2015. The consensus estimate for profit is clocked in at $1.35, which is a rise of $1.24 over a year ago. It is also an upgrade from three months ago, when the estimate was pegged at $1.33.

On the other hand, analysts expect earnings to clock in at $5.44 per share for this fiscal year. They also expect revenues to slide around 17%, from less than $23 billion last year to over $19 billion in the second quarter this year. For the year, revenue is expected to clock in less than $77 billion.

The profit increase comes after the previous quarter’s decline in net-income. The profit increase in the most recent quarter climbed the figure up to less than $4.80 billion, which is a whopping 2535% increase.

Citigroup Stock price ended the day at $55.92, a gain of less the 0.70% the previous day, as the financial entity has sold out its retail and business commercial operations in Latin America, with Canadian based Bank of Nova Scotia (otherwise known as Scotiabank) acquiring those operations in Costa Rica and Panama. This will help to ripple the customer base to an estimated 387,000 customers of its existing business in both nations, as well as 15% market share in Costa Rica and 18% market share in credit card operations in Panama.

AppleCare+ To Benefit Users With Battery Issues

Apple warranty service AppleCare+ is designed in a manner to improve the battery span.

Apple Inc. the tech behemoth has become a major tycoon in the industry and has thus established its image as a top notch brand that delivers high end products with an amazing customer service. Several other firms are trying its best to come up with such products and services that can compete with the likes of Apple. However, most of the companies cannot really touch the standards which Apple has already set.

Among other Apple products there is also a service for the warranty of their product known as Apple Care which is designed with an aim to offer technical support if any issue arises with the hardware and software of their product. in case clients wish to avail extended care from  the company then they can also subscribe to their Apple Care+ service which is paid.

This Apple service allows the clients to bring their devices to the company for repair and maintenance or even replacement if they face any battery related issue. Apple has now upgraded its battery clause by 20 percent that is a relatively big improvement. Earlier it was said that the service will only be available to those users that have experienced a 50 percent loss in the original battery capacity.

So the company has now modified its Apple Care warranty related service according to which”

“If during the Plan Term, you submit a valid claim by notifying Apple that (i) a defect in materials and workmanship has arisen in the Covered Equipment, or (ii) the capacity of the Covered Equipment’s battery to hold an electrical charge is less than eighty percent (80%) of its original specifications, Apple will either (A) repair the defect at no charge, using new parts or parts that are equivalent to new in performance and reliability, or (B) exchange the Covered Equipment, with a replacement product that is new or equivalent to new in performance and reliability.”

Apple Care+ is currently being offered to users with Apple iPhones and iPads at a subscription fee of $99 that result in a warranty span of 2 years for the device. On the other hand, this offer for Apple Watch is different since the pricing is dependent on which variant of the watch is owned by the user. The diversity in the pricing can be observed from the fact that the Sport edition of the Apple Watch warranty starts at $49 but in case you own an Apple Watch Edition then the device warranty will start from $1500.

More Woes For Petrobras As It Slashes Five Year Investment Budget

State-run oil company looks to reduce debt and recover investors' confidence amidst a corruption scandal.

Petróleo Brasileiro Petrobras SA (ADR) (NYSE:PBR) has said that it will slash its five year investment plan, which is yet the clearest indication that the damage from the corruption scandal and rising debt has force it to cut down its spending program even further to improve investor confidence.

In its long delayed document, the Brazilian oil giant now expects its capital spending to be more than $130 billion, way below less than $207 billion for the projects that are underway.

Finance Minister, Joaquim Levy, says the move is not unusual, since most oil companies around the world are doing it, and Petrobras is not different. The cutbacks are likely to have huge implications on the Brazilian economy, which is forecasted to contract by 1% this year, since the company is the single biggest source of investment, and that in turn, helps the construction sector and its suppliers indirectly.

The cutback will also serve as a setback against Brazil’s goal to become the top five oil-producing nations by the end of this decade, despite of the more than four million barrels of oil per day, that has been reduced to less than 3 million barrels of oil per day.

Petrobras’ fortune has had a radical change for the worse for the past several years. Ever since the announcement of pre-salt oil reserves, Brazil jumped into high euphoria and enthusiasm that it could be ‘the next big thing’. The left-leaning governments of Brazil had attempted to use the Brazilian oil giant as a vehicle for a broader economic development.

The result of this excitement was a massive spending spree through debt that is flying over the company’s head for a long time now. Capital expenditures were clocked in at 13% growth. Several huge refineries were built, most of them shooting past the budget.

Now, the company has seen its hands tied to the mountain of debt. Making matters worse was that the government adopted strict mandates for oil company to hold a minimum 30% stake for a newly developed pre salt oilfields, on top of high local rules and hefty dividend payments to investors, along with the forceful subsidization of fuel prices to ordinary Brazilians further adding to the woes.

The road to recovery will not be without roadblocks, and Chief Executive Aldemir Bendine has to focus on this for the most part, since he took the helm earlier this year. He also pledges to improve corporate governance, debt reduction, selloff assets, aside from the oil field, and most importantly, start cleaning up the mess from within.

Petrobras’ stock price ended the day at $9.02, a massive decline of more than 4%, based on the reflection of the budget cutback announcement.

Amazon UK Reported Record Sales Last Year

Amazon UK reported record sales of $8.3 billion last year.

Amazon Inc. is sustaining its market status as the reigning monarch of online American shopping despite of facing tough competition from local rivals. In recent times, the business of the company has grown substantially. It is not only about the online marketplace business but also for all other business categories that it has expanded into, such as Amazon Prime.

The online retail giant’s biggest markets are in the United States and United Kingdom. According to sources, the latter contributes a lot towards the company’s revenues and it has been a great revenue stream over the years. Sources suggest that the corporation generated massive revenues from the UK sales last year, which were estimated at $8.3 billion (£5.3 billion) after noticing an increase by 14% in 2014.

However, the online retailer paid very less in corporate taxes and thus received various handouts in government grants. The accounts filed in the US explained that the company’s sales in the United Kingdom were $7.3 billion (£4.49 billion) in 2013 and further rose by a staggering 14% in the following year.

Furthermore, the UK financial accounts of the company that were filed at the Companies House showcased the turnover for Amazon UK to be under $1068.7 million (£680 million) as the year ended on December 31, 2014. The UK turnover was also up by a substantial amount, as it was under $707 million (£450 million) in 2013.

One source stated, “The reason for the difference is because Amazon claims its Luxembourg European headquarters sells products to British customers through the Amazon.co.uk limited company and the UK figures instead refer to payments for its warehousing, distribution and administrative work, such as negotiating purchasing deals with book publishers, but not sales.”

Amazon’s UK financial accounts further showed an operating profit of $55.9 million (£35.6 million) in 2014 after experiencing a jump of nearly 95%. It was only $28.6 million (£18.2 million) in year before. In the same period, the company received a note in government grants of $2.83 million (£1.8 million) in 2014, which was nearly 12% to 13% higher than 2013.

It has been an ongoing practice from Amazon that they are paying less corporate taxes in recent years. UK sales of Amazon managed to make $8.3 billion and it will be liable to pay corporate taxes of nearly $18.7 million (£11.9 million).

The Guardian reported, “The accounts for Amazon.co.uk Limited show the UK business is continuing its rapid expansion. The document shows that 7,722 staff in warehouse, procurement, software and other roles were employed during the year, up from 5,912 in 2013.”

Twitter Will Soon Enter E Commerce Market

Twitter is all set to make its way in the e-commerce sector by launching 'buy' buttons on featured tweets and ads.

Twitter Inc. is miles behind Facebook in terms of users, revenues, and advertisers. The company is working to catch up or become better to be the market leader eventually. According to Market Watch, “Twitter Inc. is investing more resources in a visually-appealing e-commerce strategy it hopes will entice consumers to ditch the digital middleman and buy things directly off its platform.” 

Facebook has previously launched a few features that would give a touch of e-commerce business to its platform by adding buy, sell, and payments tool on groups and messenger. The microblogging social media network giant announced on Friday that it is testing product and a few collection pages that can be easily accessed from the main news feeds when a user scrolls his timeline. These collection or product pages will be live separately.

According to sources, all of the dedicated product pages will focus on a particular product, for instance a book, apparel, or a pair of sneakers. It will be listing highly sought details that will include price, product description, and more details from the retail website.

The company will also give an option to its users to buy a certain listed product right on Twitter. The micro blogging platform will also ‘host tweets from the general tweeting population as a source of user reviews.’

Market Watch reported, “The collection pages would be separate to that, gathering top products handpicked by celebrities and brands, and aligned in an almost Pinterest-like photo format. While the collection pages might not initially offer an option to buy like the product pages, Twitter said it will test increased functionality in the coming months.”

According to the website, it is believed that microblogging giant is preparing a product, which will be the combination of Amazon and Pinterest. The company is all set to create an immersive experience for online shoppers and give them a good online marketplace in the coming time. It is said that it is currently testing the buy button feature since September.

With the rising trend of e-commerce and online shopping, Facebook previously announced on many occasions that it would try to change its groups for people to do business there. Thus, it introduced buy and sell button on groups along with a recently launched payment feature on its messenger.

Now Twitter is said to be following the footsteps of Facebook and compete against it in this sector as well. The social giant should understand the level of struggle required to achieve this task.

Yahoo Launches Apps For Apple Watch

Yahoo has successfully launched four free apps for Apple Watch.

Yahoo Inc. is not stopping to expand its business on different platforms. According to sources, it is believed that the company has finally launched its app for Apple’s smart watch. The internet giant has designed four free apps for the Apple Watch, which it unveiled in Taiwan a few days ago. These four new apps include Yahoo News Hong Kong, Yahoo News Digest, Yahoo Weather, and Yahoo Sports Fantasy. All of these apps were developed in quite a simplified version so that they are compatible with the Apple Watch.

Yahoo seeks to make user experience better and it further hopes to provide an engaging and healthy user experience through these four apps. The senior director of product management at Yahoo, Fernando Delgado, stated that Apple Watch is one of the important platforms that have further motivated the company to believe and reimagine working on mobile services. He added in the press in Taipei that Apple Watch has made the company ponder over how to incorporate innovation in mobile technology.

It is believed that the senior director of product management says that he will be utilizing all the feedback from the users in order to make appropriate changes in the next edition of these apps that the company also plans to launch worldwide, including Taiwan.

According to BidnessETC, “Yahoo’s apps look to provide different types of information to users. Yahoo Weather provides morning updates and weather forecasts, and notifies users through the Apple Watch’s Glance feature. Users can use the Yahoo Sports Fantasy app to check what is happening in their leagues, and make changes in their team lineups. Yahoo News Digest updates users about the most important story of the hour.”

The users of Apple Watch, who are living in Hong Kong, can use the Yahoo News Hong Kong app in order to stay updated with all the breaking news and happenings, including top ten headlines of the hour. It is believed that the internet giant’s entry once again in the market of apps for smart watches is in line with its strategy of ‘mobile first’.

So far, it is believed that the strategy is working for the company. According to sources, Yahoo managed to generate GAAP revenue of nearly 61% year-on-year and brought it up to $234 million.

Apple Watch will be available to the masses in Taiwan on June 26. The manufacturer has not yet disclosed the prices but it is expected to come in all three versions.

UnitedHealth Funds Renovation Of Historic Minneapolis Apartments for the Homeless

This will convert the 100-year-old Stevens Square apartment building in Minneapolis into 19 affordable units for people without permanent housing.

UnitedHealth Group Inc. (NYSE:UNH), as part of its corporate social responsibility supporting the healthcare system, has announced its intention to fund  the conversion of a century old Stevens Square apartment building in the Minneapolis area  into 19 affordable units for those who do not have permanent housing and are lurking around the streets with an uncertain future.

The healthcare company will kick in with almost $2 million in the form of equity out of the total estimated $3.40 million for the  renovation project, which is located at 1926 Third Ave. S. The so-called Lonoke building will be converted into a one-bedroom apartment with upgraded electrical and mechanical furnishings, which translates into new bathrooms and kitchens. The building will also get a new roof on top of other exterior roof improvements.

UnitedHealth Corp., the sponsor of the project, has selected Fredric’s Construction Co. based in Vadnais Heights to undertake the renovation work. Once it is completed, the ten apartments out of 19 will be offered to those who have been classified as long-term homeless, whereas the remaining nine will be offered to those who earn between 30-50% of the median income from the area.

Vice President of UnitedHealth Investment Management, Tom McGlinch, stated that the renovations will be completed later this year, and one which will prove to be critical in improving the healthy and emotional lives of the homeless people with the help of support services; some who may resort to crimes instead of something productive, though they will need some institutional and civic support for that.

The developer for this project will be St. Paul-based Beacon Interfaith Housing Collaborative, the company that purchased the building in 2005, whereas the St. Paul-based Common Bond Communities will be responsible for managing the properties. Their selection is being attributed to both of them winning the Best in Real Estate Award for the Riverview Apartment in Minneapolis.

United Health Corp. will not be alone in the financing though they will have the lion’s share of the equity investment. Loans worth more than million dollars combined will be priced by Minnesota Housing Finance Agency, the City of Minneapolis itself and from the Hennepin County (which will also provide a grant of around $65,000), whereas three quarters of $100,000 will be provided as grant from the Westminster Presbyterian Church as well as from Plymouth Congregational Church.

United Health Group stock price ended the day at $118.99, a rise of 0.80% from the previous day.