Uber aiming for valuation up to $90B
SAN FRANCISCO -- Uber Technologies Inc. is aiming for a valuation of about $80 billion to $90 billion in its initial public offering, just above its last private funding round, according to people familiar with the matter.
The ride-hailing company is planning to start marketing shares to potential investors in a price range of about $44 to $50 each, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the matter isn't public. Uber could aim to raise about $8 billion to $10 billion in the listing, though the final details of the pricing may still change, the people said.
At the lower end of the range, the price would value Uber just above its last private funding round, in which Toyota Motor Corp. invested at a valuation of about $76 billion. Uber is taking a conservative approach to its valuation and could later raise the price depending on investor demand, the people said.
Uber is expected to set the terms for its initial public offering as soon as today.
-- Bloomberg News
Amazon logs 1st-quarter profit of $3.6B
SEATTLE -- Amazon reported a first-quarter profit of $3.6 billion, or $7.09 a share, rocketing past analyst expectations.
The Seattle commerce giant said Thursday afternoon that net sales through the first three months of 2019 were $59.7 billion, up 17% from the year-earlier period. That was at the high end of the company's revenue guidance and in line with analyst expectations.
Amazon chief financial officer Brian Olsavsky said the outsize profit in the quarter was a result of operating efficiencies and lower-than-expected costs. Specifically, he cited slower cost growth in Amazon's network of warehouses and logistics operations; employment and infrastructure investment. Spending growth in those areas had declined significantly in 2018 from the previous two years, as Amazon built up capacity. That decline continued through the beginning of this year.
-- The Seattle Times
U.S. long-term mortgage rates rising
WASHINGTON -- U.S. long-term mortgage rates rose this week for the fourth-straight week, though they remain historically low as a spur to home sales in the spring buying season.
Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday that the average rate on the 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage increased to 4.20% from 4.17% last week. By contrast, a year ago the benchmark rate stood at 4.58%.
The average rate for 15-year, fixed-rate home loans rose this week to 3.64% from 3.62% last week.
After peaking at nearly 5% in November, long-term rates started trending downward, helping to boost home sales after a rocky 2018.
Freddie Mac surveys lenders across the country between Monday and Wednesday each week to compile its mortgage rate figures.
-- The Associated Press
Disney in talks to buy entirety of Hulu
LOS ANGELES -- Walt Disney Co. is in talks to acquire the 30% stake in Hulu held by Comcast Corp., CNBC reported, a deal that would hand over complete control of the video-streaming service.
Disney emerged as 60% owner of Hulu in March when it acquired the entertainment assets of 21st Century Fox Inc. for $71 billion. The Burbank, Calif., entertainment giant increased its stake last week when Hulu agreed to buy out minority investor AT&T Inc. That deal valued Comcast's stake in the service at $4.5 billion or more.
Hulu, home to hits such as The Handmaid's Tale, is poised to become a key part of Disney's emerging direct-to-consumer business, which includes the ESPN+ online sports platform and the new Disney+ streaming service for children and families. Disney is expanding online as more consumers drop traditional pay TV for Internet-based competitors like Netflix. Hulu will focus on more grownup fare. Last year, the service added 8 million subscribers, a gain of nearly 50%.
-- Bloomberg News
Google wins appeal of $1.2B tax bill
PARIS -- Google won another round in its fight against a $1.2 billion French tax bill after a second court rejected claims the search-engine giant abused loopholes to avoid paying its fair share.
The Paris administrative court of appeals on Thursday confirmed a 2017 ruling at a lower tribunal that wiped out the French tax authority's claim, saying the lower court's reasoning was sound. The lower court found that Google didn't illegally dodge French taxes by routing sales through Ireland.
Paris judges confirmed that the conditions to tax Google Ireland as if it had a permanent French base weren't met as the local unit didn't have the sufficient autonomy from the Irish headquarters. The lower court underlined that the French unit's employees couldn't accept online advertising requests from local clients, requiring approval from executives in Ireland.
In a parallel criminal case, French prosecutors raided the Alphabet Inc. unit's Paris office in May 2016 after months of preparation spent offline to prevent leaks. That probe, which hasn't resurfaced in the past three years, similarly seeks to verify whether Google's Irish unit failed to declare part of its income in France.
-- Bloomberg News
China critics urge Trump to quit talks
NEW YORK -- Longtime China critic Kyle Bass and former Donald Trump adviser Steve Bannon called on the U.S. president to walk away from trade talks with Beijing to achieve better terms later, accusing Wall Street and U.S. corporations of working on behalf of China's communist party.
"Corporate America is the lobbying arm for the Chinese Communist Party, and Wall Street is the investor relations department," Bannon said at a conference Thursday at Manhattan's St. Regis Hotel. "I think we gotta walk away from this right now, we gotta start playing hardball, smash-mouth," he said, referring to the trade talks between the U.S. and China.
Bass, founder and chief investment officer of Hayman Capital Management, said China's basic economic data -- including the country's gross domestic product -- can't be trusted and suggested the Internal Revenue Service create a policy to dissuade investors from investing in the world's second-largest economy.
"China is in a really bad place today, running out of dollars flowing in their economy" and on "the biggest credit binge in world history," said Bass, who reaped gains by betting against mortgages during the financial crisis a decade ago.
-- Bloomberg News
Business on 04/26/2019