Netflix, Obama and Ryanair | Calamatta Cuschieri

Markets summary

European Markets closed higher following London's FTSE 100 new intraday record high. Meanwhile, a tentative agreement between the United States and China on a trade framework caused some optimism in Europe as well as overseas. On the earnings front, Irish low-cost airline Ryanair published its report for the financial year 2018.

The FTSE 100 jumped 1.14% at the end of the session. Venture capital company 3i Group Plc rose 3.99%. The CAC 40 ended the day 0.53% in the green, with Airbus SE adding 3.09%, while the German DAX was closed for a public holiday.

On Wall Street, markets extended gains with the Dow Jones soaring over 350 points after US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin announced Washington and Beijing decided to put the trade war between the two countries "on hold" and added "significant" progress has been made in trade negotiations with China.

Ryan Air

Irish low-cost giant Ryanair DAC stated that its basic earnings per share for the financial year 2018 stood at €1.21, improving 15% compared to the year before that. The company said its full-year revenue amounted to €7.2 billion, rising 8% year on year.

Ryanair's profit after tax for the whole of 2018 was €1.6 billion, increasing 10% compared to the profit the company achieved in 2017. Meanwhile, the net margin stood at 20% for this year, unchanged compared to the year before that. The firm managed to increase the number of guests by 9% in 2018 to 130.3 million passengers.

Obama and Netflix

Streaming giant Netflix announced it struck a multi-year partnership with former United States President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle. According to the deal, the Obamas are set to produce a number of movies and series for the company.

"President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama have entered into a multi-year agreement to produce films and series for Netflix, potentially including scripted series, unscripted series, docu-series, documentaries, and features," Netflix said in a tweet.

Obama noted that he decided to enter the agreement in order to help "many fascinating people from all walks of life" share their stories with a wider audience.

Blackstone to buy LaSalle Hotel in $4.8B deal

LaSalle Hotel Properties stated it entered into an acquisition agreement with real estate investor Blackstone Group LP. According to the terms of the deal, Blackstone will buy all LaSalle shares for $33.5 per share, a premium of around 35%, in a cash transaction valued at $4.8 billion. The transaction, which was unanimously approved by the hotel owner's board, is expected to complete in the third quarter of 2018.

Disclaimer:

This article was issued by Rodrick Duca, Trader at Calamatta Cuschieri. For more information visit, www.cc.com.mt. The information, view and opinions provided in this article are being provided solely for educational and informational purposes and should not be construed as investment advice, advice concerning particular investments or investment decisions, or tax or legal advice. Calamatta Cuschieri Investment Services Ltd has not verified and consequently neither warrants the accuracy nor the veracity of any information, views or opinions appearing on this website.