Reuters - Before the Bell

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Wednesday, July 31, 2019

Oil rises as market awaits U.S. Fed rate cut

Oil prices rose for a fifth day on Wednesday, supported by a drop in U.S. inventories and investor expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve will lower borrowing costs for the first time since the financial crisis more than a decade ago.

Spotify revenue beats but adds fewer-than-expected paid subscribers

Spotify Technology SA reported better-than-expected second-quarter revenue on Wednesday, but added fewer paid subscribers than estimated, sending its shares down 2.2% in trading before the bell.

GE posts loss, takes Boeing hit but raises forecast; CFO to leave

General Electric Co swung back to a financial loss in the second quarter, as the cost of restructuring its ailing power business and the grounding of a Boeing Co jetliner model drained more cash than expected from GE's otherwise profitable industrial units.

Futures drift higher on Apple results; Fed rate decision awaited

U.S. stock index futures edged higher on Wednesday, as trade worries eased after Apple reported upbeat earnings and forecast, while investors awaited an almost certain cut in interest rates by the Federal Reserve.

GM faces declining sales and price wars in largest markets

General Motors Co's investors will see on Thursday how the Detroit carmaker is weathering declining sales and mounting price pressures in its largest markets when it reports second-quarter earnings.

Latest U.S.-China trade talks 'constructive', Beijing says

U.S. and Chinese negotiators wrapped up a brief round of trade talks on Wednesday that Beijing described as "constructive", including discussion of further purchases of American farm goods and an agreement to reconvene in September.

Brexit and subsidy row cloud strong Airbus profits

Airbus urged European governments to step up plans for a "likely" no-deal Brexit and settle a long-running subsidy dispute with the United States to help limit trade risks for Europe's largest planemaker.

Baker Hughes profit beats on higher international demand, LNG activity

Baker Hughes, General Electric Co's oilfield services arm, reported a better-than-expected quarterly profit on Wednesday, helped by higher activity in LNG markets and rise in international demand for oilfield services.

Getting under the hood of Amazon’s auto ambitions

Amazon.com Inc is expanding its transportation prowess to do virtually everything short of building a car.

Carlyle to give shareholders a vote in switch to corporation

Carlyle Group LP emulated its peers on Wednesday with plans to convert from a publicly traded partnership into a corporation, and went one step further by announcing it will become the first U.S. private equity firm to hold shareholder votes.