INSIDER
Caterpillar 4Q sales slip, but results top Wall Street
Read full article: Caterpillar 4Q sales slip, but results top Wall StreetFILE - In this Sept. 18, 2019, photo a Puckett Machinery Company technician walks past a new heavy duty Caterpillar excavator that awaits modification at Puckett Machinery Company in Flowood, Miss. The Deerfield, Illinois, company reported a profit Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2020, of $1.22 per share. Sales were $11.24 billion, down significantly from last year's $13.14 billion, yet far better than Wall Street projections of $11.18 billion, according to a survey of analysts by Zacks Investment Research. That is still well below the $1.1 billion, or $1.97 per share, that the company earned in the prior year. The Commerce Department reported Thursday that the U.S. economy shrank in 2020 by the largest amount in 74 years, and the Labor Department reported that 847,000 Americans applied for unemployment benefits last week.
Asian stocks fall on worries over rising virus cases, US aid
Read full article: Asian stocks fall on worries over rising virus cases, US aidPeople wearing face masks walk past a bank's electronic board showing the Hong Kong share index in Hong Kong, Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2020. Asian shares headed lower Wednesday on worries about rising virus counts and Washington's inability to deliver more aid to the economy. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)Asian shares headed lower Wednesday on worries about rising virus counts and Washington's inability to deliver more aid to the economy. Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 fell 0.3% in morning trading to 23,420.93, while South Korea's Kospi declined 0.2% to 2,325.22. The U.S. dollar weakened to 104.30 Japanese yen from 104.41 yen late Tuesday.