WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. construction spending raced to a record high in December as historically low mortgage rates powered outlays on private projects. The Commerce Department said on Monday that construction spending increased 1.0% to $1.490 trillion, the highest level since the government started tracking the series in 2002. Data for November was revised higher […]

(Bloomberg Intelligence) — RECENT EVENT REACTION: Apple is returning to the bond market, even with $196 billion of cash on hand, which we believe suggests the pace of shareholder returns is likely to rise to new highs. With 1Q returns exceeding $30 billion, and net cash $84 billion above its target, Apple’s near-zero weighted cost […]

By Claire SicardJanuary 29, 2021Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos in 2019. MARK RALSTON/AFP via Getty Images Amazon files dozens of patents every year at the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Many of them paint a futuristic picture of Amazon’s delivery service, with ideas like an underwater warehouse and accordion-like drone chute. Should these patents turn into […]

By Natasha Dailey January 29, 2021   Woman online shopping. Tashdique Mehtaj Ahmed/Getty Tashdique Mehtaj Ahmed/Getty Images 48% of retailers are planning a digital transformation in 2021 as a result of the pandemic, BDO said. Their focus will be e-commerce, including social and mobile shopping. 44% of consumers say they will continue online shopping post-pandemic, ESET […]

Wednesday, January 27, 2021 09:17 PM By Bloomberg News Huawei falls out of the top 5, according to market researchers In shadow of 5G iPhone, Samsung also sees double-digit decline (Bloomberg) — Record iPhone shipments pushed Apple Inc. to the No. 1 position in the global smartphone market as Samsung Electronics Co.and Huawei Technologies Co. lost significant ground, market research […]

Tuesday, January 26, 2021 01:00 AM By Peter Coy (Bloomberg Businessweek) — The day was cold and windy. Standing outside the Capitol, the just-sworn-in president called for “a new unity of spirit and purpose” to bind together a nation that had been wracked by a pandemic and high unemployment. His predecessor wasn’t on stage. The inauguration […]

By Enda Curran IMF set to update outlook after World Bank trims estimate Federal Reserve and global leaders set to address the outlook (Bloomberg) — The world economy is facing a tougher start to 2021 than expected as coronavirus infections surge and it takes time to roll out vaccinations. While global growth is still on course to rebound […]

By Carolynn Look Ifo business climate index declines to 90.1 in Jan.; est. 91.5 Gauges of current conditions and expectations deteriorated (Bloomberg) — German companies’ optimism in an economic recovery is being tested as extended lockdowns at home and abroad curb activity. A gauge of sentiment over current conditions fell in January, dragging the Ifo Institute’s […]

(Bloomberg Businessweek) — Last October, Waymo announced that anybody who hailed one of its rides in the suburbs southeast of Phoenix would be picked up by a truly driverless vehicle—no human sitting behind the wheel. It was a major milestone for Alphabet Inc.’s self-driving-car unit, the culmination of more than a decade of work begun as part of Google’s […]

(Bloomberg) — European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde signaled that the euro-zoneeconomy is headed for a double-dip recession, while insisting that the current level of monetary stimulus is enough for now. The ECB chief said output probably shrank at the end of 2020, and “a decline in the fourth quarter will travel into the first quarter.” Economists are increasingly […]