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The Morning Ledger: Trump Asks SEC to Consider Half-Yearly Reporting |
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The SEC has required companies to report quarterly results since 1970, and over the years the fuss around each quarter’s numbers has devolved into something of a circus PHOTO: JIM BOURG/REUTERS
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Good morning. Will a half-yearly check-in with investors make things better for your company? That’s the future President Trump asked the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to study, according to a tweet posted Friday.
Watch this space: SEC Chairman Jay Clayton, a Trump appointee, said in a statement that the agency is studying “the frequency of reporting.” The regulator plans to issue a document this week that seeks input on how to promote a long-term focus among public companies and investors, according to a person with knowledge of the SEC’s plans.
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They do it in Europe: The European Union scrapped rules requiring quarterly earnings reports in the wake of the financial crisis. The move was aimed in part at lessening the burden, especially on small companies, of preparing detailed financial statements so frequently.
Less transparency is expensive: A 2011 paper in the Journal of Accounting and Economics examining the period from the early 1950s, when companies were only required to file annual reports, to the 1970s, when they were required to report quarterly, found that companies cost of capital was lower when they reported more frequently.
So is short terminism: A 2003 survey of public company CFOs found that 78% of these executives would sacrifice long-term value in order to hit their quarterly earnings targets. Many of the CFOs also conceded they would cut spending, delay starting a beneficial project or book revenues ahead of time to meet short-term earnings expectations.
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Estee Lauder Companies Inc. is among the companies reporting earnings today.
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The U.S. National Association of Realtors will release existing-home sales data on Wednesday. Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal expect a slight 0.4% pick up.
Investors will be watching this week for further signs that the housing market is cooling following worrisome data for June, writes WSJ’s Lauren Pollock.
On Thursday, the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City holds Jackson Hole economic symposium in Wyoming. This will be the first time Fed Chairman Jerome Powell speaks at this highly-watched, annual meeting of monetary policy wonks.
Meanwhile, the Bank of Japan will release its services producer price index data, figures that can signal underlying price pressure.
The U.S. Commerce Department will release July durable-goods data on Friday. Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal expect a 0.4% increase in new orders for durable goods.
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Chinese and U.S. negotiators are drawing up a road map for talks to end their trade impasse ahead of meetings between President Trump and Xi Jinping in November.
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The trade war between Washington and Beijing is prompting companies that export to the United States to rethink their calculations about making goods in China, reports Reuters.
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A broad cross-section of U.S. businesses has a message for the Trump administration: new tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese imports will force Americans to pay more for items they use throughout their daily lives, from cradles to coffins, reports Reuters.
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President Trump signaled Friday that Turkey could face additional consequences for holding an American pastor on disputed espionage charges, saying, “We are not going to take it sitting down.”
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Pepsi’s deal to buy SodaStream comes as consumers shift away from sugary soft drinks towards bottled water. PHOTO: BLOOMBERG NEWS
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PepsiCo Inc. has agreed to buy home-carbonation company SodaStream International Ltd. for $3.2 billion, the latest move by the cola giant to diversify away from sugary sodas and salty snacks.
Apple Inc. removed illegal gambling apps from its App Store in China after criticism from Chinese state media—a move that could help quell the latest challenge for the American tech giant in its most important market outside of the U.S.
Global luxury brands from Prada S.p.A. to LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE are investing in China for the first time since a crackdown on conspicuous spending five years ago, focusing on smaller, less developed cities even as the world’s second-largest economy slows, reports Reuters.
Most Africans can’t afford the beers that brewers like Anheuser-Busch InBev NV, Heineken NV and Guinness maker Diageo PLC sell in other markets. That, combined with commodity price swings and the risk of high taxes on premium beers that could threaten steady profits, has led brewers to embrace low-price, locally formulated concoctions to tap into the world's fastest-growing beer market.
For years Edward Lampert has called the shots at Sears Holdings Corp. as its chief executive, largest shareholder and biggest lender. But his latest play to keep the struggling chain afloat is out of his hands.
OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma LP has hired restructuring lawyers at Davis Polk & Wardwell as it grapples with mounting litigation over its alleged role in fueling the opioid epidemic, people familiar with the matter said.
Deutsche Bank AG said Saturday that it is acting on its own to buy bonds of Noble Group Ltd., days before a crucial shareholder vote on a $3.5 billion restructuring of the Singapore-listed commodity trader.
Deere & Co. reported higher earnings Friday, saying that farmers are continuing to buy equipment even as they worry about potential tariffs on their products.
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An investigation by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission means that Tesla Inc.’s precarious cash situation could become critical in the coming months.
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The UK’s Financial Reporting Council has fined accountants KPMG three million pounds and reprimanded and fined senior partner Michael Francis Barradell for misconduct related to auditing of British fashion retailer Ted Baker PLC’s accounts, reports Reuters
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The share of job seekers relocating for new employment has fallen dramatically since the late 1980s, when more than a third moved to take new opportunities elsewhere, according to outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc. PHOTO: CHRIS DUNN/YORK DAILY RECORD/ASSOCIATED PRESS
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Fewer U.S. workers are moving around the country to seek new job opportunities, as changing family ties and more openings near home make people less willing to uproot their lives for work.
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In Canada’s auto capital, Windsor, Ontario, angst is rising that the border town’s ties to the U.S. auto industry, already strained by steel tariffs, could soon be ruptured by President Trump’s threatened tariffs on Canadian-made cars.
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The exodus of Venezuelans gained pace as the government’s plans to address the collapsing economy fueled anxiety, while tensions grew in neighboring countries that have strained to absorb refugees.
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