By Deepa Seetharaman SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Amazon.com Inc posted a much larger-than-expected loss in the second quarter as it continues its rapid pace of investment in new businesses such as digital content and consumer electronics. Amazon's stock price has dropped 10 percent so far in 2014, with investors leery of betting on its long-term growth at the expense of little to no profit. Amazon is investing heavily in new businesses and hardware products, as it prepares to take on major tech rivals from Apple Inc and Google Inc to Netflix. Chief Financial Officer Tom Szkutak said Amazon had a "tremendous amount of opportunities" and its investments were "certainly impacting short-term results." The company is spending more than $ 100 million on original video content in the third quarter, a substantial increase compared to last year and the second quarter, Szkutak said.
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Amazon reports a loss of $ 126m in the second quarter and warns of slowing sales.
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U.S. auto sales in July will be the strongest for the month since 2006, and rise 9 percent from last year, automotive industry consultants J.D. Power and LMC Automotive predicted on Thursday. For the fifth consecutive month, the seasonally adjusted annualized sales rate will top 16 million new vehicles, at 16.6 million, the consultancies said. LMC raised its full-year 2014 forecast for new auto sales to 16.3 million, from 16.2 million. U.S. auto sales were 15.6 million vehicles last year.
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The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has lowered its forecast for global economic growth this year, from 3.7% to 3.4% but the UK’s forecast is raised.
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Barclays challenges legal action brought by US prosecutors alleging fraud in its “dark pool” trading operations.
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General Motors Co reported a lower second-quarter profit on Thursday due to numerous recalls and the expected cost of at least $ 400 million for its victims' compensation fund for those killed or injured by a defective ignition switch linked to at least 13 deaths. The quarter included the charge for the establishment of the victims' compensation fund, which GM said could rise by about $ 200 million, as well as an $ 874 million charge for a change in how the company will account for recalls. Not counted as one-time items were previously disclosed costs of $ 1.2 billion for GM recalls, which have covered almost 29 million vehicles so far this year. GM also has $ 200 million in restructuring costs.
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European stocks edged up too after digesting Markit's Composite Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) of companies across the euro zone and a good early indicator of overall growth. "But there are concerns about domestic growth in the euro zone and possible sanctions on Russia are likely to have an impact." The euro hit the day's highs at $ 1.3471, pulling off eight-month lows, while the dollar index dropped from an earlier six-week peak. EU states will meet later on Thursday to discuss harsher measures against Russia for its continued involvement in Ukraine and support for pro-Moscow rebels whom Kiev accuses of shooting down a Malaysian Airlines plane last week, killing 298. European stocks rose 0.2 percent, reversing earlier losses on mixed earnings data and relatively weak manufacturing data from France, the euro zone's second largest economy.
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