By Saeed Azhar NEW YORK (Reuters) – Bank of America saw an 80% jump in mortgage applications between January and March, its executive of consumer lending said, as buyers were tempted by increasing home inventory and lower long-term bond yield. “We’re seeing a steady increase in home buying activity, and it’s beyond what we would normally see from a seasonality perspective,” Matt Vernon, head of consumer lending at the second-biggest U.S. lender, told Reuters. “We’ve seen an 80% increase in our applications from January to now, and normally we would see around the 60% increase.”The drop last fall in U.S.…
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Image source: Getty Images The Next (LSE: NXT) share price jumped 10% in early trading Thursday (27 March), on the back of results for the year ended January 2025. It dropped back a bit, showing a 6% gain on the day at the time of writing. The high-street fashion chain hit the £1bn profit-before-tax milestone for the first time ever. At £1.01bn, it’s up 10% over the previous year. Total group sales increased by 8.2% with full-price sales up 5.8%. Earnings per share (EPS) rose 9.9%, benefiting from the company’s share buyback programme. Sector pressure The highly-competitive fashion business has…
There are “no quick fixes” to Tesla’s problems, according to HSBC. Analyst Michael Tyndall reduced his price target on shares by $35 to $130. His new forecast suggests 52.2% downside potential for the stock from Wednesday’s close. “The seeds for the current sales weakness pre-date the recent brand issues,” Tyndall, who has a reduce rating on the stock, wrote in a note to clients Thursday. Tesla’s aging products with limited driving assistance technology have pressured the company in the China market, according to Tyndall. Meanwhile, the electric vehicle maker has struggled with European fleet buyers, which constitute 60% of the…
NEW YORK, March 27, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Chestnut Carbon (“Chestnut”), a nature-based carbon project developer, today announced that since its inception, it has enrolled over 160,000 acres in its Improved Forest Management (IFM) membership program branded as “Forest Carbon Works.” The program is one of the largest in the U.S. providing private landowners access to income-generating carbon markets while preserving the integrity and legacy of their forest land. The program currently has members enrolled from 36 states. Chestnut distills the seemingly complex processes of the carbon markets into a simple IFM membership service, enabling private forest landowners to benefit from long-term conservation…
Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) stock fell sharply at the beginning of the month. Investors who thought they were picking up a bargain then were engaging in a challenging investment activity: trying to catch a falling knife. Note: return data correct as of time of recording. Transcript: CHRIS: Hi Fools, Chris Nials here and I’m joined by Motley Fool analyst Zaven Boyrazian. Morning Zaven! ZAVEN: Morning Chris, I’m very well thank you. CHRIS: We’re going to be talking about Tesla today, and how some retail investors have been trying to catch the proverbial ‘falling knife’ with its stock, but many have had their fingers…
LOS ANGELES, March 26, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — B. Riley Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ: RILY) (“BRF” or the “Company”), a diversified financial services company, today announced it has entered into a privately negotiated exchange agreement (the “Agreement”) with an institutional investor, which will reduce the Company’s total outstanding debt by approximately $35 million. Pursuant to the Agreement and subject to the completion of certain closing procedures, the investor has agreed to exchange approximately $123 million in outstanding Senior Notes, consisting of approximately $86 million in 5.5% Senior Notes due March 31, 2026 (NASDAQ: RILYK) and approximately $37 million in 5.0% Senior Notes due…
Prime minister Harold Wilson famously quipped that “a week is a long time in politics”. The same can be said about Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) stock. Just seven days ago, the share price was $235. Now, it’s up at $272, representing a 15.5% gain. This means that any brave soul who invested £10k in the stock a week ago would now have about £11,550. Tesla defies logic Sticking with prime minister theme, let me trot out one last quote (from Winston Churchill): “You will never reach your destination if you stop and throw stones at every dog that barks.” To me,…
Image source: Getty Images The S&P 500 remains a focal point for investors hoping to navigate a confusing mishmash of political developments and tumultuous markets in 2025. To get a grip on what’s happening, I’ve looked at the advice of finance gurus from Reuters, Moody’s and the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG), plus various brokers. They offer a complex and often contrasting view of the market’s potential direction. Conflicting figures As Reuters notes, the US economy presents a paradoxical scenario. Despite forecasts of a slowdown in growth for 2025, Wall Street analysts project record-high corporate profits. According to the LSEG,…
Image source: Getty Images Everything’s relative, so while my Lloyds (LSE: LLOY) shares put on a solid show last year, I couldn’t help but feel a twinge of disappointment. FTSE rivals Barclays (LSE: BARC) and NatWest did an awful lot better, doubling in value. Barclays’ impressive surge following a strategic overhaul which included cutting £2bn of costs to boost shareholder payouts by £10bn within three years. Snapping up Tesco Bank further boosted its domestic retail banking presence. At the same time, Lloyds got bogged down in the motor finance mis-selling scandal. This, according to some estimates, could cost it £3bn in…
A Volkswagen (VW) Passat R car (L) and a Golf GTI car are pictured in the tower storage facility of German carmaker Volkswagen at the company’s headquarters in Wolfsburg, central Germany, on March 11, 2025.Ronny Hartmann | Afp | Getty ImagesGermany’s economy minister and auto industry lambasted U.S. President Donald Trump’s plans to impose sweeping 25% tariffs on U.S. car imports, saying the move sends a “fatal signal” to free and rules-based trade.Trump on Wednesday said he would implement tariffs on all vehicles and foreign-made auto parts imported into the U.S., as part of measures set to come into force…