NEW YORK, N.Y. – Bank of America’s profits rose to a record $6.9 billion last quarter thanks in part to the new tax law and higher interest rates.The consumer banking giant earned $6.92 billion, or 62 cents per share, up from $5.34 billion, or 45 cents a share, from the same period a year ago. Analysts had been expecting a per-share profit of 59 cents, according to FactSet.Like its competitors JPMorgan Chase and Citigroup, Bank of America reported a sharp drop in its tax bill Monday, which helped boost profits. While the bank’s pretax income rose by roughly $1 billion, the amount it paid in taxes fell by roughly $500 million in the quarter. The Charlotte, North Carolina, bank estimates that the tax law cut its effective tax rate by 9 percentage points.This first-quarter earnings season will give investors and the public their first good look into how President Donald Trump’s tax law is impacting corporate America. Banks are among the first to report results at the beginning of each quarter.Higher interest rates benefited the bank as well. The Federal Reserve has steadily raised interest rates, allowing banks to charge customers more to borrow. In Bank of America’s consumer banking division, its largest business by revenue and profit, net interest income rose 13 per cent from a year earlier. The bank also grew loans and deposits in the quarter.While higher interest rates should translate into better interest rates for savers, most of the benefits have gone to the banks, not account holders. Bank of America paid just an average of 0.30 per cent on its interest-earning deposits last quarter, up from 0.09 per cent a year earlier.Total revenue for Bank of America in the quarter was $23.13 billion, up from $22.25 billion in the same period a year earlier. read more

The risk management loss was attributed to the company’s decision last year, when prices were lower, to hedge 80 per cent of its oil production for the first half of 2018.Operating loss from continuing operations was $752 million, or 61 cents per share, compared with a $39 million loss last year.Revenue was $4.61 billion, up from $3.54 billion a year ago and above analyst estimates, as oilsands volumes nearly doubled as a result of an acquisition in May 2017.Analysts had estimated a net loss of 12 cents per share with $4.2 billion of revenue, according to Thomson Reuters data.“The challenges we experienced in the first quarter had a significant impact on our financial results, but the underlying performance of our assets remains very strong,” Cenovus chief executive Alex Pourbaix said in a statement. “I want to stress that these financial challenges are temporary and don’t reflect Cenovus’s significant potential for funds flow and earnings growth.”Cenovus announced last month that it had reduced production rates in response to an above-normal differential between the price between light and heavy grades of oil, as well as pipeline and storage constraints. CALGARY, A.B. — Cenovus Energy posted a $914 million net loss from continuing operations in the first quarter, a bigger shortfall than analysts had expected, amid challenging pricing conditions for heavy grades of crude oil as well as natural gas.The Calgary-based company said the net loss amounted to 74 cents per share, which compared with a year earlier profit of $211 million or 25 cents per share.The loss included a $100-million non-cash asset impairment charge for its Clearwater assets due to declining natural gas prices, as well as $469 million in risk-management losses. It said Wednesday that production was ramped up again to normal levels after prices for Western Canadian Select prices improved later in the quarter.The first-quarter results were also affected by planned maintenance at two U.S. refineries operated by Phillips 66 and co-owned by Cenovus. read more

Kolkata: Kolkatans may enjoy Holi without rain playing a spoilsport as the Regional Meteorological Centre at Alipore predicted no rainfall in the city on Thursday and Friday.According to the weather office prediction, there may be slight rainfall in some Western districts in the next 24 hours. The occurrence of rainfall can be attributed to the development of a confluence zone, which is due to an amalgamation of dry northwesterly winds with humid winds from anti-cyclone over Bay of Bengal. Also Read – Bengal family worships Muslim girl as Goddess Durga in Kumari Puja”There is a possibility of isolated light rain in some parts Gangetic Bengal, which includes the districts of West Midnapore, East Midnapore, Purulia and Bankura. But, the city may stay dry in next two days as a result of which people will be able to enjoy Holi Festival with a great spirit,” a senior official at the weather office said. There were no winter rains in January. But, slowly weather activities picked up pace bringing in rain in the end of February. Following the same trend, rain continued in March in short intervals. Also Read – Bengal civic volunteer dies in road mishap on national highwayIncidentally, for the past few days, rain and thundershower intensified over some parts of Bengal, including the city. It was learnt that the state has received almost three times of normal rainfall during this period with 33.8 mm against its normal of 12.8 mm in March so far. The confluence zone that still exists over Bay of Bengal has weakened. It may be mentioned that in past few days the city and various South Bengal districts witnessed thunder shower accompanied with hailstorms. Some of the Western districts also received heavy rainfall during this period. There is a prediction of heavy rainfall in the coastal areas of Odisha in the next couple of days, the MeT office said. The temperature in the city may slightly go up in the city from Thursday. People may experience discomfort particularly during the daytime due to high level of humidity in the air. read more

Senior midfielder Olivia DiCarlantonio (17). Credit: Courtesy of OSUAs a young girl, Olivia DiCarlantonio would wait for her uncle to return from his business trips to bring her the complimentary toiletries from the hotel rooms in which he had stayed. Whatever he gave to her, she would donate to local homeless shelters. A lot has changed for DiCarlantonio, now an Ohio State lacrosse player and fourth-year in public health, but one thing has remained constant: She is still collecting toiletries and giving back. DiCarlantonio started The Little Things this past September. The service allows student-athletes to donate complimentary toiletries collected on away trips to the Van Buren Center, a homeless shelter based in Columbus.“There’s close to 1,500 student-athletes at this university, so getting them involved in this service is powerful,” DiCarlantonio said. “It’s cool to have people back home know we are thinking about them on game day.”DiCarlantonio said it was important to leave her legacy at OSU, but in something other than her sport.“I realized that women’s lacrosse isn’t necessarily a ‘football sport’ where I could just leave my mark by winning the Heisman (Trophy),” DiCarlantonio said. “I wanted to do something that other lacrosse players and the Buckeye family can remember me by years down the road.”There are donation boxes all across campus, but mostly in buildings that athletes frequently visit, such as the Student-Athlete Support Services Office, the Younkin Success Center, the Fawcett Center, the French Field House and the Woody Hayes Athletic Center.“I wanted to make it as easy as possible for athletes to be able to donate,” DiCarlantonio said. “All we have to do is put the toiletries in the boxes on our way out to practice or when we get back from an away trip.”Andrea Kacsits, a senior middle blocker on the volleyball team, said The Little Things allows student-athletes to take something most people overlook and turn it into something helpful and impactful.“It teaches us that nothing is ever small,” Kacsits said. “The things we see as small have an impact much bigger than their stature, even if it’s not blatantly obvious.”The university has been an integral part in the service’s success.“I thought this would be a simple project, but nothing with Ohio State is ever small as they’ve gone above and beyond already,” DiCarlantonio said. “They’ve connected me with creative services and graphic design, as well as helped me to create logos and fliers for The Little Things.”DiCarlantonio, who encouraged students and faculty to contribute by donating toiletries at any of the box locations, said she is happy with the service’s progress, but she also is excited to see how its impact can continue to develop.“I already have two huge boxes of donations, and I’m not stopping anytime soon,” she said. “I would love to get this program started at other universities and share my process; why stop here?” read more