Kohl's shares tank on dismal holiday sales results, lowered outlook - CNBC

Shoppers enter a Kohl's store in Peoria, Illinois.

Daniel Acker | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Kohl's said same-store sales during November and December fell 0.2% due to weakness in its core women's apparel business, leading it to lower the bar for its full-year outlook.

Based on the dismal holiday performance, Kohl's said in a press release that it is now calling for fiscal 2019 diluted earnings per share to be at the "low end" of a previously announced range of of $4.75 to $4.95. In November, when it last reported quarterly earnings, the company cut its annual profit forecast to $4.75 to $4.95 per share from $5.15 to $5.45.

The news sent Kohl's shares tumbling as much 9% in premarket trading. As of Wednesday's market close, Kohl's stock had dropped about 28% over the past 12 months. Kohl's has a market value of $7.7 billion.

"We are managing the business with discipline and we expect to deliver on our earnings guidance for the full year," CEO Michelle Gass in a statement. During the holidays, Kohl's was more pleased with its performance in active, beauty and children's divisions, as well as footwear and men's, she added.

Gass said Kohl's is "working with speed to address" the issues in its women's business

Kohl's has been expected by analysts to deliver same-store sales growth during the fourth quarter, which includes the holiday season, of 0.4%.

"It's going to be hard to find a positive development out of today's holiday update from [Kohl's]," Gordon Haskett analyst Chuck Grom said.

The announcement follows one from rival Macy's a day earlier, in which Macy's said its holiday same-store sales dropped 0.6%. The decline wasn't as bad as many had feared, sending Macy's shares higher on the news. CEO Jeff Gennette said Macy's saw "a strong trend improvement from the third quarter," igniting some optimism for the retailer's turnaround plans.

Still, on the whole, department stores are expected to have underperformed during the 2019 holiday season.

The category of retailers that includes J.C. Penney, Macy's, and Nordstrom, saw overall sales decline 1.8% from Nov. 1 through Dec. 24, according to Mastercard Spending Pulse, which tracks retail spending across all payment methods.

More shoppers are expected to have turned to retailers like Target and Walmart — which aren't at traditional malls — for apparel, electronics, and other gifts. Many rung up purchases on Amazon as well. The e-commerce giant has already claimed 2019 was a record holiday.

Kohl's has teamed up with Amazon, however, to accept returns of items purchased on Amazon at all of its stores. To try to reap any benefits, it offers discounts when people use the service. This past holiday season was the first in which the partnership was live at all of Kohl's stores nationwide.

A tie-up with Amazon was expected to be a boon to traffic for Kohl's. But some say that is still not showing up.

"We continue to be surprised that Kohl's isn't seeing much in the way of a traffic bump from its partnership with Amazon," Grom said in his note to clients.

Kohl's is expected to share more details regarding its holiday results when it reports quarterly earnings on March 3.

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2020-01-09 12:17:00Z
CAIiEP-v_yIdfi-lUJDq172dJbAqGQgEKhAIACoHCAow2Nb3CjDivdcCMO7tngY

Kohl's shares sink after holiday sales decline, weak guidance - MarketWatch

Kohl's Corp. KSS, -1.57% shares sank 6.4% in Thursday premarket trading after the retailer reported a 0.2% decline in holiday season comparable sales. "We continue to see momentum in key areas including our digital business, active, beauty and children's, and solid performance in footwear and men's," said Chief Executive Michelle Gass in a statement. "This was offset by softness in women's, which we are working with speed to address." Fiscal 2019 earnings are now expected to be on the low end of the guidance range for $4.75 to $4.95. The FactSet consensus is for EPS of $4.88. Kohl's was downgraded twice in recent days based on weakness in the women's business. Kohl's is scheduled to announce fourth-quarter earnings Feb. 25. Kohl's shares have fallen 29.4% over the past year while the S&P 500 index SPX, +0.49% has gained nearly 26%.

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2020-01-09 12:14:00Z
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Why a ‘battle-weary’ Tesla enthusiast is now telling investors to move to the sidelines - MarketWatch

Now that U.S.-Iran tensions have cooled a bit, it may be time to revisit predictions from some strategists last year that said equities are primed for big gains in the first quarter.

They may have been onto something. The Nasdaq Composite COMP, +0.67%  nailed a record close on Wednesday, while the S&P 500 SPX, +0.49%  could be headed for one today, judging by positive futures action. News that China’s Vice Premier Liu He will sign a “Phase 1” trade deal in Washington next week is also inspiring investors.

Also shooting to a new high on Wednesday were shares of electric-car maker Tesla TSLA, +4.92%, whose market capitalization is now bigger than Ford Motor’s at its peak.

That brings us to our call of the day from Baird analysts Ben Kallo and David Katter, who have downgraded Tesla to a neutral rating after a longtime overweight, or bullish position, on the shares. In a note to clients, they said it is time to cash in on some of the big gains the automobile maker has seen.

“We are moving to the sidelines, admittedly battle-weary after a hard-fought several years, including [approximately] 20% outperformance over the last year,” said the team, who spoke of “contentious arguments with (evidently) high-conviction bears.”

Note the analysts lifted their share target to $525 from $355—shares closed just shy of $500 on Wednesday.

They said risk/reward for Tesla shares is looking more balanced following recent gains—up 113% in the last 6 months, nearly 18% year-to-date. And while some analysts have been turning increasingly optimistic on the company’s future, they think that process may be in the latter stages.

Baird analysts added that Tesla stock is now reflecting lots of progress the company has made over the past two years, both operationally and financially. They mentioned such pluses as the new Shanghai factory and an “extremely compelling product line,” including the Model Y, the Tesla Semi Roadster and the Pickup.

But they stopped short of suggesting investors bet on shares to fall over the long run. They said even amid bearish arguments by some, “the company has continued to grow and execute (albeit on a slower timeline than projected, at times) and we expect this will continue.”

The market

Dow YM00, +0.37%, S&P ES00, +0.36%  and Nasdaq -100 NQ00, +0.53%  futures are higher, with European stocks SXXP, +0.38% on track for a record session after Wednesday’s upbeat day on Wall Street. Asian markets ADOW, +1.58% also rebounded. Gold GC00, -0.69%  is pulling back from what’s been a big run this week.

The tweet

I guess “Appear” is the new Major Term. We “Appear” to have eased Tensions with Iran. We “Appear” to have a US/China Trade deal. What is “Actual” is the $spx held the 8day and is opening at a new ATH with lots of stocks acting Great. Trim and trail

— Scott Redler (@RedDogT3) January 9, 2020

The chart

Investors putting money into Apple AAPL, +1.61%  shares a year ago would have doubled their money, according to this chart tweeted by Byron Lotter, portfolio manager at Vestact Asset Management.

If you had bought Apple shares exactly one year ago you would have doubled your money. And that excludes dividends. Quite astonishing considering the size and scale of the business. pic.twitter.com/yRzehldC1q

— Byron Lotter (@Byron_vestact) January 9, 2020

Lotter said while some attribute the share rise to renewed popularity for Apple products in China, he thinks its services division is a star player. He cited a company statistic that shows $1.42 billion was spent on the App store between Christmas and New Year’s Eve, while he’s also positive on Apple Music and Apple TV. An “incredible business…still has legs,” he told clients in a note.

The buzz

Bed Bath & Beyond shares BBBY, -1.13%  are tumbling after the housewares retailer reported a big quarterly miss and pulled its outlook.

Watch shares of HP HPQ, +1.31%  after the printer and personal computer maker again rejected a takeover bid by Xerox XRX, -0.06%.

Ahead of Friday’s nonfarm payroll data, we’ll get weekly jobless claims before the open.

Random reads

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Pilot of doomed Ukrainian airliner apparently tried to avoid crashing into homes.

Chinese scientists probing a pneumonia outbreak discover a new virus.

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2020-01-09 11:39:00Z
CAIiEGpyA-g1kfnr1W-BbXKU2R0qGAgEKg8IACoHCAowjujJATDXzBUwmJS0AQ

Lebanon issues travel ban for fugitive ex-Nissan chief Ghosn - The Associated Press

BEIRUT (AP) — Lebanese prosecutors issued a travel ban for fugitive ex-Nissan chief Carlos Ghosn and asked him to hand in his French passport on Thursday, following an Interpol-issued notice against him, a judicial official said.

The travel ban comes after Ghosn was interrogated by prosecutors for nearly two hours over the notice about the charges he faces in Japan over financial misconduct.

The prosecutors also formally asked Japanese authorities for their file on the charges against Ghosn in order to review the case, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to reporters.

Lebanon last week received the Interpol-issued wanted notice, which is a non-binding request to law enforcement agencies worldwide that they locate and provisionally arrest a fugitive.

At the hearing, Ghosn was asked to provide an address he resides at in Lebanon and was banned from traveling out of the country, the official said. He was also asked to hand in his French passport. It was not immediately clear what legal procedures would follow.

Lebanon and Japan do not have an extradition treaty, and the Interpol notice does not require that Lebanese authorities arrest him. The authorities say Ghosn entered Lebanon on a valid passport, casting doubt on the possibility they would hand him over to Japan.

Interpol cannot compel Lebanon to arrest Ghosn and it will be up to the local law enforcement authorities to decide what to do.

On his first public appearance since he fled Japan, Ghosn on Wednesday railed against the Japanese justice system, accusing it of violating his basic rights and disputing all allegations against him as “untrue and baseless.”

He told a press conference in Beirut that he doesn’t trust he would have a fair trial in Japan but said he was ready to face justice anywhere else.

Ghosn, a French, Lebanese and Brazilian national, showed up in Lebanon on Dec. 30, after an audacious and improbable escape from surveillance in Japan. Lebanese officials said he entered legally, with a French passport and a Lebanese identification card.

While a travel ban restricts Ghosn’s movement, it also offers him a degree of protection by Lebanese authorities who would presumably ensure he complies with the ban. France also doesn’t have an extradition treaty with Japan.

According to the official, Ghosn was also interrogated on a separate report against him over a 2008 visit to Israel. Lebanon and Israel are technically at war. No decision was taken regarding this case, which according to Lebanese law can be punishable between one and 10 years in jail.

Two Lebanese lawyers submitted a report to the Public Prosecutor’s Office saying the trip violated Lebanese law. The violation may not be prosecutable, given that it has happened 12 years earlier. A famous Lebanese director, who also carries a French passport, questioned over the same violation in 2017 was not prosecuted because the visit was three yeas prior.

Ghosn’s lawyer, Carlos Abou Jaoude confirmed that his client was questioned in the two separate cases — the Interpol notice and the Israel trip. He told reporters Ghosn was confident in the Lebanese judicial system.

At Wednesday’s press conference, Ghosn apologized to the Lebanese, saying he never wished to offend anyone when he traveled to Israel as a French national after Nissan asked him to announce the launch of electric cars there.

Tokyo prosecutors, who arrested him in late 2018, said Ghosn had “only himself to blame” for for four-month-long detention and for the strict bail conditions that followed, such as being banned from seeing his wife.

“Defendant Ghosn was deemed a high-profile risk, which is obvious from the fact that he actually fled,” they said.

Ghosn thanked the Lebanese authorities for their hospitality and defended its judicial system, which has long faced accusations of corruption and favoritism. He said he would be ready to stand trial “anywhere where I think I can have a fair trial.” He declined to say where that might be.

With big gestures and a five-part slide presentation, Ghosn brought his case to the global media in a performance that at times resembled a corporate presentation. Combative, spirited, and at times rambling, he described conditions of detention in Japan that made him feel “dead ... like an animal” in a country where he asserted he had “zero chance” of a fair trial.

He said he was held in solitary confinement for 130 days, was interrogated day and night for hours, appeared in handcuffs and a leash around his waist and was denied rights to see his wife for months.

In his 150-minutes conference Wednesday, Ghosn attacked Japanese prosecutors, saying they were “aided and abated by petty, vindictive and lawless individuals” in the government, Nissan and its law firm. He said it was them, not him, “who are destroying Japan’s reputation on the global stage.”

On Tuesday, Tokyo prosecutors obtained an arrest warrant for Ghosn’s Lebanese wife Carole on suspicion of perjury, a charge unrelated to his escape. However, Japanese justice officials acknowledge that it’s unclear whether the Ghosns can be brought back to Japan to face charges.

Nissan has said it was still pursuing legal action against Ghosn despite his escape.

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2020-01-09 09:27:23Z
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Fugitive Ghosn brings global attention to Japanese justice - The Associated Press

TOKYO (AP) — Though former Nissan Chairman Ghosn is unlikely to stand trial in a real court, he has made himself a key witness in putting Japan’s justice system on trial.

In his first public appearance after fleeing to Lebanon, Ghosn lambasted unfair detention and bail conditions, said he was presumed guilty and had “zero chance” of a fair trial in a system rigged against him.

“I didn’t run from justice, I left Japan because I wanted justice,” the former auto industry icon said at a spirited, two-hour news conference in Beirut.

With little chance they can extradite him, Japanese authorities struck back with words Thursday.

Tokyo prosecutors, who arrested him in late 2018, said Ghosn had “only himself to blame” for being detained 130 days before being released and for the strict bail conditions like being banned from seeing his wife.

“Defendant Ghosn was deemed a high-profile risk, which is obvious from the fact that he actually fled,” they said.

Justice Minister Masako Mori denounced Ghosn’s comments as erroneous and credited Japan’s extremely low crime rate to a judicial system rooted in “its history and culture.”

Ghosn’s remarks, however, highlighted many of the issues human rights advocates call problematic in Japan’s justice system.

Because of Japan’s extremely low crime rate, how suspects are treated is surprisingly unknown to Japanese, who tend to trust authoritative figures and assume no one gets arrested without a reason.

In Japan, suspects can be detained in solitary confinement without charge for up to 23 days. Charges can be filed piecemeal to prolong incarceration. Suspects are routinely grilled for hours each day without a lawyer present. Critics call the detention conditions mental torture.

Japan’s conviction rate is higher than 99%, a number that critics, including Ghosn, say indicates unfairness.

Japanese officials insist the conviction rate is so high because they don’t make mistakes and only guilty people are prosecuted. At the same time, they insist there’s presumption of innocence.

It’s an entrenched system that not only leads to confessions but also has judges thinking suspects are guilty, says Tokyo defense lawyer Seiho Cho, who has been trying to change the system.

“They really believe that this system is functioning efficiently and correctly,” he said.

Cho said Ghosn was a high-profile case and the way regular suspects get treated is worse.

Those who insist they are innocent especially are detained longer, some for hundreds of days. Bans on contact with family members are also common, he said.

The ban in Ghosn’s case cited the risk his wife Carole may tamper with evidence. An arrest warrant was issued this week for Carole Ghosn on suspicion of perjury.

Carlos Ghosn argued the ban on contact with his wife was illogical because he was allowed to meet with other family members, implying the decision was meant to wear him out. His decision to escape was driven by his desire to be with his wife, he said.

The preparation for Ghosn’s trial had already taken a year, and the date for his trial was undecided. He was charged with underreporting of future income and breach of trust in diverting Nissan Motor Co. money for personal gain, the two separate charges complicating and prolonging his trial process.

If convicted, he could face 15 years in prison. Prosecutors also can appeal district court decisions, prolonging the process for defendants.

“Even when they are eventually exonerated, they have already lost so much,” Cho said, noting some suspects have lost their jobs, their reputation, even their families.

Among the famous cases of wrongful convictions is Iwao Hakamada, who spent 48 years in prison until new DNA evidence won his release from death row in 2014. He had been questioned, beaten and bullied by police daily in detention and confessed to murdering a family of four, but asserted his innocence when his trial began.

Frenchman Mark Karpeles was arrested in 2015 after his bitcoin exchange collapsed. He spent 11 months in detention, although he was eventually cleared of embezzlement and fraud allegations. He got a suspended sentence, meaning no additional jail time was required, on a conviction on charges of manipulating electronic data. He is appealing. Karpeles said he was an innocent victim of hackers.

A true-life story of a man who refused to sign a confession that he groped a woman on a crowded commuter train became a popular 2007 movie. The film depicts a five-year legal battle for exoneration, highlighting the burden of proof of innocence was on the accused rather than police and prosecutors proving guilt.

Although Ghosn has drawn attention to the system’s possible flaws, Cho was worried about a backlash, with release on bail getting tighter.

“We had gradually been making progress, but this could set us back,” said Cho.

For example, with the idea of introducing an electronic tether, which Japan lacks and Ghosn had proposed to get bail, fewer people could end up getting bail, and, on top of that, get electronically monitored.

Interpol has published a wanted notice for Ghosn but it is non-binding. Chief government spokesman Yoshihide Suga said whether Ghosn would be extradited was Lebanon’s decision but that Japan would cooperate with international organizations “so that Japan’s criminal justice system can be operated appropriately.”

Jacques Deguest, an expert on Japanese law and business, thinks Ghosn’s case is so embarrassing for Japan it may discourage some non-Japanese from wanting to invest or live in Japan.

“Prosecutors are regarded as guardians and protectors of Japanese culture,” said Deguest, an investor, lawyer and consultant.

Their super-efficient, but often brutal, practices have resisted change, but sometimes pressures from abroad can bring about change in Japan, Deguest said.

“Change happens often through crisis because it forces people to be uncomfortable with the status quo and forces them to move on,” he said.

“This Ghosn case is great in terms magnitude because it has the power to put the external pressure on Japan that we all love,” Deguest said.

Ghosn was careful not to blame the people of Japan for what he called the nation’s injustices.

He led Nissan for two decades, steering the automaker back from near-bankruptcy to a thriving brand, although sales and profits have tumbled since his arrest.

Ghosn said people on the streets who spotted him while he was out on bail would come up to him.

They would tell him, he said in Japanese, “Ghosn-san gambatte kudsai,” using the honorific for his name, saying: “Hang in there.”

___

Yuri Kageyama is on Twitter https://twitter.com/yurikageyama

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2020-01-09 08:06:43Z
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Bitcoin Roller-Coasters As The U.S. And Iran Send Mixed Messages [Updated] - Forbes

Bitcoin, perhaps finally finding its place as a so-called safe haven asset, has moved sharply higher after Iran retaliated for the U.S. killing of Iranian general Qassem Soleimani.

The bitcoin price, now up 15% so far this year, has added 5% to its value in the last 12-hour trading period. The jump in the bitcoin price came shortly after news of Iran’s missile attack on U.S.-led forces in Iraq early on Wednesday.

[Updated 7:10pm EST 01/09/2020] The bitcoin price has fallen back following U.S. president Donald Trump's comments downplaying the situation in Iran and suggesting "Iran appears to be standing down." Meanwhile, rockets have apparently been fired at the U.S. embassy and military facilities in Baghdad. The bitcoin price dropped to just under $8,000 per bitcoin following Trump's White House speech.

People across Iran have mourned the killing of General Qasem Soleimani by the U.S. military in Iraq. ... [+] The escalation in tensions between the U.S. and Iran has pushed up safe-haven assets such as gold, with the bitcoin price also climbing.

SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

The bitcoin price, down almost half from its 2019 high, surged around $600 in a matter of minutes to almost $8,500 per bitcoin on the Luxembourg-based Bitstamp exchange before falling back slightly to trade around $8,300.

Bitcoin followed traditional safe haven assets gold and the Japanese yen higher with Iran's retaliation raising international concerns the conflict between the U.S. and Iran could continue to escalate.

Gold prices have hit their highest since March 2013.

The price of oil has also soared, with brent crude up 2.5% to around $70 per barrel on concerns there could be disruption to oil supplies from the Middle East.

U.S. president Donald Trump said via Twitter he will be making a statement on Wednesday morning, adding: "All is well! Assessment of casualties and damages taking place now. So far, so good!"

Bitcoin and cryptocurrency watchers have long speculated whether the bitcoin price could eventually perform in the same way as traditional safe haven assets, though this has so far failed to happen consistently.

"The resemblance between digital gold and the physical stuff is uncanny," Mati Greenspan, the founder of crypto and financial analysis outfit Quantum Economics, wrote in a note ahead of bitcoin's latest rise. "They've basically been moving in a very similar pattern throughout most of last year."

The bitcoin price has climbed well over $8,000 per bitcoin, with the price adding some 15% so far in ... [+] 2020.

Coinbase

Last week, following the killing of general Soleimani, with Matthew Graham, chief executive of Sino Global Capital, asked if bitcoin has begun "moving in reaction to geopolitical risk."

Meanwhile, after general Soleimani was killed by U.S. forces in Iraq it was widely reported the bitcoin price in Iran had soared to around $24,000—this was, however, based on a common misunderstanding of exchange rates in Iran.

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2020-01-09 06:25:31Z
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Ex-Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn claims Japanese prosecutors leaked false information, hid evidence - CNBC

Former Nissan Chairman Carlos Ghosn, in his first public appearance since fleeing Japan, accused the country's prosecutors on Wednesday of trying to force a flawed confession.

In an internationally broadcast news conference in Beirut, Ghosn said that while he was under arrest he was questioned for up to eight hours a day, without access to lawyers, and was told his family would suffer if he didn't confess.

""Just confess and it will be over. Not only will we go after you, and we will go after your family,'" the 65-year-old Ghosn said he was told.

Without elaborating, the ex-auto exec also said Japanese prosecutors had leaked false information to the media and concealed evidence that would have helped his case. Japanese prosecutors had no immediate response to Ghosn's comments.

Ghosn was arrested in November 2018 on charges of underreporting his salary, using Nissan money for private investments and employing his sister as a highly paid consultant. He denies wrongdoing.

He escaped from house arrest on Dec. 29 and was flown on a stealth journey that eventually took him to Lebanon, where he has citizenship.

He told reporters he had looked forward to Wednesday's opportunity to speak for more than 400 days after he had been "ripped from my family, friends, communities, from Renault, Nissan and Mitsubishi and the 450,000 women and men who comprised those companies."

Carlos Ghosn, former chief executive officer of Nissan Motor Co. and Renault SA, gestures as he speaks to the media at the Lebanese Press Syndicate in Beirut, Lebanon, on Wednesday, Jan. 8,. 2020. Ripped from my family, my friends, my communities, from Renault, Nissan and Mitsubishi and the 450,000 women and men who comprise those companies. It is impossible to express the depth of that deprivation and my profound appreciation to once again be able to be reunited with my family and loved ones, Ghosn said. Photographer: Hasan Shaaban/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Hasan Shaaban/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Ghosn has suggested that his arrest was the result of a plot to prevent him from fully merging Nissan with French automaker Renault.

"I was ready to retire before June 2018. ... I unfortunately accepted this offer to continue to integrate the two companies," Ghosn said. "Some of my Japanese friends thought that the only way to get rid of the influence of Renault on Nissan was to get rid of me."

Hitoshi Kawaguchi, who previously handled government affairs for Nissan; Hidetoshi Imazu, the auto firm's statutory auditor; and board member Masakazu Toyoda were identified by Ghosn as the three main people behind a plot to topple him.

"With the strings being pulled and manipulated by those dead set on securing a confession or conviction whose only goal is to save face, the facts, truth and justice are irrelevant to these individuals," he said.

A spokesperson for Nissan was not immediately available for comment when contacted by CNBC.

The former executive also accused the Japanese prosecution of working closely with Nissan. "The collusion between Nissan and the prosecutor is everywhere," he said.

Ghosn, who also holds French and Brazilian citizenship, made his dramatic escape from Japan while awaiting trial in Tokyo. He had been released from prison last April after posting a $14 million bail.

Ghosn reportedly took Japan's bullet train from Tokyo to western Osaka, before using a private jet to ferry himself to Istanbul and then switching planes to travel on to the Lebanese capital.

Lebanon, which has no extradition treaty with Japan, has said Ghosn entered the country legally.

Interpol, the international police cooperation body, has issued a "red notice" for Ghosn's arrest but so far Lebanese authorities have taken no action.

Ghosn said his decision to escape was not difficult.

"You're going to die in Japan or you have to get out," he said.

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2020-01-08 13:30:00Z
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