JANUS POSTS QUARTERLY EARNINGS LOSS
Janus Capital Group Inc. reported a 21 percent drop in first-quarter earnings as market losses early in the quarter took a toll on assets under management.
Net income fell to $33.8 million, or 19 cents a share, from $43 million, or 23 cents, in the year-earlier period, the Denver-based company said Tuesday in a statement.
Janus, led by chief executive Richard M. Weil, 52, joins other fund companies posting decreasing profits after stock market losses in January and early February eroded assets and fees for overseeing them.
Assets at Janus declined to $191.3 billion at the end of the quarter from $192.3 billion as of Dec. 31, reflecting market losses of $1.3 billion, partly offset by net inflows of $300 million that were driven by deposits to exchange-traded products. Long-term funds had $300 million in redemptions, while the mostly short-term ETPs took in a net $600 million.
Exxon loses AAA rating from S&P. Low oil prices
have helped cost Exxon its pristine AAA credit rating from Standard & Poor’s, a label it held for more than six decades.
The top AAA credit rating from S&P means a company’s debt is the safest possible investment. Now only two other U.S. corporations are rated AAA by S&P: consumer and medical products company Johnson & Johnson and technology company Microsoft Corp.
S&P said Tuesday that it lowered Exxon’s rating one notch, to AA+, because of slumping oil prices and the “large dividend payments” the oil giant makes to shareholders.
Valeant hearing will include top investor
B washington» Senate lawmakers investigating price hikes by the embattled drugmaker Valeant Pharmaceuticals also will question one of the company’s leading investors, hedge fund manager William Ackman.
The Senate Aging Committee holds its third meeting on drug prices Wednesday, responding to escalating costs that have squeezed patients and strained health care budgets across the country. The committee previously announced it would question outgoing Valeant CEO Michael Pearson.
Chinese company to build $1 billion mill
B little rock, ark.» The Chinese company Sun Paper announced plans Tuesday for a $1 billion mill in southern Arkansas, the paper company’s first facility in North America.
Joined by Sun Paper officials to announce the project at the state Capitol, Gov. Asa Hutchinson said the project will create 250 jobs and is one of the largest private investments in Arkansas’ history.
Company and state officials said they expected the project to employ 2,000 people during its construction and create an additional 1,000 jobs indirectly in the timber industry.
Ford investing $1.6 billion in U.S. plants.
Ford Motor Co. is spending $1.6 billion to upgrade two U.S. plants for new products.
Ford says it’s investing $1.4 billion in its Livonia, Mich., transmission plant to build a new 10-speed transmission. Dearborn, Mich.-based Ford also is investing $200 million in its Ohio Assembly Plant to build Super Duty chassis cabs, which are used for commercial vehicles.