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☆ An even better way to play a potential small-cap stock breakout, according to the charts
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-23 | by ( Todd Gordon | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Is the breakout from resistance likely and should you consider allocating exposure to this basket of 2000 small capitalization stocks? I think the breakout should occur, but I don't think we should increase exposure to the Russell 2000 for two reasons. Ideally the rotation was going to carry through into the upper-right green quadrant indicating confirmed outperformance relative to the S & P 500. I'm not saying we shun small caps all together and continue to focus on the large caps. We need to focus on fundamentally sound small cap companies and we can do so through the Pacer US Small Cap Cash Cows 100 ETF (CALF) .

Persons: Russell, Powell, Gordon, POWL Organizations: Federal Reserve, Powell Industries, Edge, Inside Edge Capital Management

☆ Ghana: In deciding on anti-gay law, president is caught between a rock and a hard place
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-14 | by ( David Mckenzie | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —Sam George, the driving force behind Ghana’s harsh anti-LGBTQ legislation, portrays himself as a guardian of gay Ghanaians. Making inequality legalWhatever its origins, the bill’s passage is terrible news for LGBTQ Ghanaians. “The sentiment and emotion we are expressing right now is sadness,” said Alex Kofi Donkor, the founder of LGBT+ Rights in Ghana, an advocacy group. On one side, you have politicians like George and a broadly conservative citizenry that will publicly goad the president to act. For Ghana’s president, navigating this intricate political landscape looks set to be a daunting – and unenviable – task.

Persons: Sam George, “, ”, It’s, ” George, George, Alex Kofi Donkor, Nana Akufo, it’s, Ghana’s Organizations: CNN, Rights, Ghana’s Ministry, Finance, Bank Financing, Monetary Fund, Bank, US State Department, Ministry of Finance Locations: Accra, Ghana, United States, Uganda, Ghanaian, “ Ghana, State

☆ China is stepping up to save its economy this year, but the data just doesn't seem to be getting much better
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-01 | by ( Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

In January, authorities pulled about a dozen moves to stabilize a stock market rout and to support the property sector. But China's economic data isn't encouraging, and investor confidence is still low. Investors are cautiousThe moves gave some support to Chinese markets, but investors are still cautious. China's economic data hasn't been rosy either. Consumer appetite for property is still lowStill, overall consumer appetite for the property market appears to be in the dumps.

Persons: —, Hao Hong, Premier Li Qiang, Hong, Min Lan Tan, Tan Organizations: Service, Bloomberg, Grow Investment, Premier, Reuters, Investors, CSI, Securities Times, Estate Information Corp, Asia Pacific, UBS, Nikkei Locations: China, Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Suzhou, Guangxi, Nikkei Asia

☆ There's a hidden crisis hurting mid-sized companies
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-10 | by ( Noah Sheidlower | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Many large public companies successfully navigated the pandemic and ended up larger and wealthier. Marblegate Asset Management then compared these findings to public companies in the Russell 3000 index — the broadest measure of American public companies. The firm's analysis found that EBITDA fell over 24% for middle-market companies between 2019 and 2022, whereas EBITDA grew 18% at large public companies. EBITDA margins fell 25% during the time period for middle-market companies, while it only declined 2% for public companies. Whereas large public companies can charge more for increases in raw material and labor costs, middle-market companies on the whole struggled to pass on these costs to customers.

Persons: —, RapidRatings, amortization, EBITDA, Axios Organizations: Service, Business, Marblegate Asset Management, Marblegate, Management

☆ Global growth to slow but avoid a hard landing -OECD
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-29 | by ( Leigh Thomas | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Growth in advanced economies that make up the OECD's 38 members was seen headed for a soft landing, with the United States holding up better than expected so far. "Our central projections are for a soft landing, but that cannot be taken for granted," OECD chief economist Clare Lombardelli told a news conference. "Monetary policy needs careful calibration to bring inflation to targets while minimising the impact on growth. The OECD forecast U.S. growth would slow from 2.4% this year to 1.5% next year, revising up its estimates from September when it predicted U.S. growth of 2.2% in 2023 and 1.3% in 2024. Its growth was seen easing from 5.2% this year to 4.7% in 2024 - both marginally higher than expected in September - before slowing further in 2025 to 4.2%, the OECD forecast.

Persons: Vincent Alban, Clare Lombardelli, Lombardelli, Leigh Thomas, Christina Fincher, Catherine Evans Organizations: Shoppers, REUTERS, Rights, Organisation for Economic Cooperation, Development, OECD, Thomson Locations: Chicago , Illinois, U.S, Paris, United States, Germany, Japan

☆ Beijing is making its biggest move yet to patch up the property crisis threatening to blow up China's economy
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-24 | by ( Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

China is drafting a "white list" of property developers for bank financing, per Bloomberg. China's massive property sector is in a slump, adding to the country's post-COVID economic woes. AdvertisementChina's finally starting to do something about the three-year property crisis that's been weighing on its COVID-scarred economy. China's real-estate sector has been mired in a crisis since the second half 2021 when a liquidity crisis at Evergrande — once China's second-largest developer — came into public view. AdvertisementStill, not everyone is convinced Beijing's property "white list" will be the solution to China's property problems.

Persons: —, China's, Nomura, it's, Rory Green, Green, White Knight, Vishnu Varathan Organizations: Bloomberg, Service, BI, Mizuho Bank, Business Locations: China, Beijing, Asia

☆ UniCredit, RBI among banks on hook for $2.4 bln in Signa loans -source
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-09 | by ( Alexandra Schwarz-Goerlich | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

RBI, which the person said had sharply reduced its exposure to the Signa group in recent years, declined to comment on Thursday. The European Central Bank (ECB), which supervises the banks, declined to comment. Raiffeisen Landesbank Niederoesterreich-Wien, Raiffeisen Landesbank Oberoesterreich and Erste Group are also among the banks with exposures to Signa, the person said. The other two Austrian banks declined to comment. A spokesperson for Austria's central bank said it had no concerns about the country's financial stability, when asked about Signa's financial position.

Persons: UniCredit, Signa, Rene Benko, Fitch, Landesbank, Banks, Arndt Geiwitz, Francesco Canepa, Tom Sims, Elisa Martinuzzi, Alexander Smith Organizations: Signa Group, Chrysler, Raiffeisen Bank, Bank, European Central Bank, ECB, Reuters, Erste Group, Erste, Austria's National Bank, Market Authority, Thomson Locations: VIENNA, Banks, Austria, Bank Austria, Wien

☆ ECB tells banks to factor in further drop in property prices
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A view shows the logo of the European Central Bank (ECB) outside its headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany March 16, 2023. REUTERS/Heiko Becker/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsFRANKFURT, Nov 7 (Reuters) - Euro zone banks should factor in the risk of a further fall in property prices when they make provisions and plans about their capital, the European Central Bank's chief supervisor Andrea Enria said on Tuesday. The European property market has come under pressure from the ECB's steepest and longest streak of increases in interest rates, which are now at record highs. Fuelled by low interest rates and massive ECB cash injections, billions were funnelled into property in the last decade, particularly in richer European countries such as Germany, France and the Netherlands. Euro zone banks have been curbing access to credit, particularly mortgages, and demand from households and companies is also falling, ECB data shows.

Persons: Heiko Becker, Andrea Enria, Enria, Banks, Germany's Claudia Buch, Francesco Canepa, Kirsten Donovan, Jan Harvey Organizations: European Central Bank, REUTERS, Rights, Central Bank's, ECB, Thomson Locations: Frankfurt, Germany, France, Netherlands

☆ Wave of cancellations in German housing construction at new high -Ifo
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BERLIN, Nov 6 (Reuters) - Germany's residential construction sector was again hit by a wave of cancellations in October, according to a survey published on Monday that showed a record number of firms reporting abandoned projects. "It's getting worse all the time, with more and more projects failing due to higher interest rates and elevated construction prices," says Klaus Wohlrabe, Ifo head of surveys. "In residential construction, new business remains very low and companies' order backlogs are diminishing." The number of companies reporting a lack of orders also increased in October, to 48.7% of firms from 46.6% in September. "Nearly half of all residential construction companies are now suffering from a lack of orders, and that number is growing every month," said Wohlrabe.

Persons: Klaus Wohlrabe, Miranda Murray, Rachel More Organizations: Thomson

[1/4] View of the construction site of the Elbtower building, owned by Rene Benko’s Signa and a Commerzbank subsidiary, in Hamburg Germany, November 2, 2023. Signa, the Austrian property giant and an owner of New York's Chrysler Building, had been making steady progress this year on the planned 64-story Elbtower skyscraper in Hamburg. But Signa, founded by René Benko, has fallen behind on its payments to its builder, Lupp, an executive of the construction firm said. The city of Hamburg and a minority investor, the real-estate subsidiary of Germany's Commerzbank (CBKG.DE), confirmed the stoppage. It has also prompted warnings from city officials, and is another indicator of troubles hitting the property sector in Europe's largest economy.

Persons: Rene Benko’s Signa, Fabian Bimmer, René Benko, Matthias Kaufmann, Signa, Germany's, Aon, Timo Herzberg, Karen Pein, Tom Sims Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Chrysler, Reuters, City, Reuters Graphics, Thomson Locations: Hamburg Germany, Austrian, Hamburg, Europe's, HafenCity, City of Hamburg

Private credit players like HPS Investment Partners and Blue Owl Capital (OWL.N) have a workaround, but it could prompt a painful hangover. Cashed-up private credit funds offered sums previously unseen outside of traditional bank financing on riskier deals. Private credit assets swelled 460% to over $1.4 trillion between 2010 and the end of 2022, Preqin says. Reuters GraphicsThe attraction of “mezz” and similar exotic lending isn’t just that it helps private credit source new deals. In 2021, that dynamic meant private loans briefly became cheaper than liquid, tradable loans – flying in the face of financial orthodoxy.

Persons: –, Zendesk, Preqin, LSEG, HPS, Goldman, Blackstone, Angelo Gordon, dealmaking, George Hay, Oliver Taslic Organizations: Reuters, HPS Investment Partners, Owl, Blackstone, Apollo, Treasury, Private, Management, Partners, Reuters Graphics Reuters, Sabre, Companies, Wolf, ADC Therapeutics, Equity, Thomson Locations: EBITDA

Swedbank estimates the current shortfall for Heimstaden Bostad could be roughly 30 billion crowns ($2.7 billion). Sweden's financial regulator launched an inquiry into why and how Alecta had invested $4.5 billion in the property giant, in the first place. "If interest rates continue to rise and it's coupled with unemployment, that's what we are afraid of." With interest rates still climbing, analysts such as Marcus Gustavsson of Danske Bank, believe the worst is not yet over. "With rising interest rates, that funny money has turned into real money and it is painful."

Persons: Heimstaden Bostad, Alecta, Christian Dreyer, Karolina Ekholm, Heimstaden's Dreyer, we're, Dreyer, Niklas Wykman, Heimstaden, David Perez, Marcus Gustavsson, Andreas Cervenka, Sweden, Simon Johnson, Johan Ahlander, Greta Rosen Fondahn, Chiara Elisei, John O'Donnell, Hugh Lawson Organizations: International Monetary Fund, GOVT, Sweden's, Financial, Reuters, SBB, Danske Bank, Thomson Locations: STOCKHOLM, Nordic, Stockholm, Berlin, Sweden, Heimstaden, Germany, Gdansk, London

☆ Paid Late, or Never: Painters, Builders and Realtors Hit by China’s Property Crisis
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-28 | by ( Alexandra Stevenson | More About Alexandra Stevenson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

But a drop in sales over the past six months has pushed it to the edge and in August, it threw up its hands. Country Garden skipped two small interest payments on bonds, something that has pushed it to the edge of default. If it fails to make those payments by early September, when a grace period for the interest payments ends, it will join a long list of private companies that have defaulted. “Such apartments have run out; we can’t get them,” said Han Tao, a manager at a landscaping company that is owed $1.4 million from property developers. For Mr. Han, apartments wouldn’t have been that useful anyway; no one is buying them right now.

Persons: China Evergrande, ”, Han Tao, Han Organizations: Garden, behemoth Locations: China

☆ Argentina offers financial aid to crisis-hit workers and pensioners
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-27 | by ( Eliana Raszewski | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Argentine one hundred peso bills are displayed in this picture illustration taken September 3, 2019. Massa said workers will receive 400 billion pesos in loans, while self-employed workers will be offered six months of tax relief and those on food benefits will receive additional stipends. "The goal is that every economic sector receives some state support," Massa said. Meanwhile, tensions have risen and a series of lootings have taken place across the country. ($1 = 350 Argentine pesos)Reporting by Eliana Raszewsi; Writing by Lizbeth Diaz and Sarah Morland; editing by Diane Craft and Chris ReeseOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Agustin Marcarian, Sergio Massa, Massa, Javier Milei, Patricia Bullrich, Eliana Raszewsi, Lizbeth Diaz, Sarah Morland, Diane Craft, Chris Reese Organizations: REUTERS, Sunday, International Monetary Fund, South, Thomson Locations: BUENOS AIRES

☆ Commercial real estate will suffer a recession if banks don't start lending again, warns property billionaire Ross Perot Jr.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( Theron Mohamed | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The commercial real estate sector is at risk of a recession, warned Ross Perot Jr. The real estate billionaire said banks needed to lend to the industry to avoid a sharp downturn. "The key to commercial real estate today though will be banking," the real estate billionaire and son of two-time presidential candidate Ross Perot told Bloomberg on Wednesday. Several commentators including Elon Musk and Bill Ackman have sounded the alarm on commercial real estate in recent weeks. "That is why we will have a real estate recession if the banks do not start lending."

Persons: Ross Perot Jr, —, Ross Perot, Elon Musk, Bill Ackman, stoking, Hillwood Organizations: Service, Bloomberg, Silicon Valley Bank, Signature Bank, First, Perot Jr, Perot Locations: Silicon, First Republic, —

☆ Carl's Jr. and Hardee's to roll out Presto's A.I. drive-thru ordering nationwide
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Amelia Lucas | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Carl's Jr. and Hardee's locations will roll out automated drive-thru ordering nationwide using Presto's artificial intelligence software. Together, Carl's Jr. and Hardee's have about 2,800 restaurants across 44 U.S. states. Hardee's locations are mostly in the Midwest and South, while Carl's Jr. restaurants are found in the West. CKE tested the software last year at a handful of Carl's Jr. and Hardee's locations. CKE operates about 250 of Carl's Jr. and Hardee's restaurants, while franchisees run the rest.

☆ Why one investor says Elon Musk's reign as CEO of Tesla, Twitter, and SpaceX may be 'entering the end game'
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( Jennifer Sor | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Elon Musk's days as CEO of three high-profile companies might soon be over, investor Dan Nathan said. Nathan pointed to Musk's mountain of debt from his Twitter takeover, as well as pressures facing Tesla. "He might be entering the end game here a little bit for being the CEO for all these companies," Nathan said. Tesla stock has rocketed higher in 2023 after a terrible performance last year. "Earnings estimates are coming down, margin estimates are coming down, delivery estimates are coming down, backlog is coming down, and inventory is going up.

German specialised property lenders such as Aareal Bank (ARLG.DE), Deutsche Pfandbriefbank (PBBG.DE) and Berlin Hyp, have a bigger concentration of real estate exposure, analysts added. Blackstone (BX.N) recently blocked withdrawals from its $70 billion real estate income trust after facing a flurry of redemption requests. Open-ended real estate funds in Britain have also battled to meet strong demand for redemptions. In Europe, CRE exposure for smaller banks, more at risk of deposit flight, is estimated at under 30% of all loans, Capital Economics said. "On the other, real estate owners themselves are going to face quite material increase in costs."

☆ Analysis: Rate rises pile pain on SME firms in U.S. and Europe
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Chiara Elisei | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Summary SME vulnerability to rate hikes gone under radarUS, European credit conditions tighteningUK SMEs especially vulnerable -analystsLONDON, March 30 (Reuters) - U.S. and European small and medium-sized (SME) firms may be next to feel the pain of rapid interest rate rises, with analysts and investors warily watching for the impact of tighter credit conditions exacerbated by recent banking turmoil. In the U.S. the average rate that small businesses pay on bank loans rose from around 5% to 7.6% in 2022, and is likely to hit about 9.5% by mid-year, Jefferies analysts estimate. British SMEs, hurt by weak growth, double digit inflation and rising Bank of England rates, are seen as particularly vulnerable. "The Government needs to demonstrate that it is on the side of small businesses who are feeling stressed and under huge margin pressure," McTague added. HARD TIMESMeanwhile the rate of small business loan approval at big U.S. banks meanwhile fell in February for nine straight months and business loan approvals at small banks has also fallen, said online financing platform for small businesses Biz2Credit.

The five-phase project to integrate gas production, storage, pipeline transportation and liquefaction is key for the South American country to monetize its vast reserves and become an exporter on liquefied natural gas (LNG). A delegation of technicians from Petronas traveled to Argentina in February to plan for the project. Drilling rigs could be imported for the upstream portion of the gas project as Argentina struggles to secure specialized equipment, YPF Chief Executive Officer Pablo Iuliano told journalists at the CERAWeek conference in Houston. If the decision is yes, then construction could begin between late 2023 and early 2024,The gas project with Petronas, the oil terminal and a two-phase gas pipeline connecting Vaca Muerta to the country's Northern region are needed to boost the country's oil and gas output and exports. Oil and gas producers expect the government will send draft legislation for promoting LNG production to Congress in the coming weeks, Iuliano said.

☆ Private equity firms lend less as demand cools
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( Chibuike Oguh | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The amount of loans disbursed by direct lenders so far in 2023 has not shown any pickup, the Refinitiv data shows. Also weighing on deal volumes is the cost of borrowing from private equity firms. This has dampened demand for loans from private equity firms. For their part, private equity firms have also become more risk-averse when it comes to lending, as the economic slowdown and sticky price inflation erode the credit worthiness of some borrowers. To be sure, major deals using private equity firms as lenders are still getting done as banks have continued their retrenchment from risky debt.

Several climate scenarios suggest that to limit global temperature rises to 1.5 degrees Celsius above the pre-industrial average, the world needs to be investing $4 in renewable energy for every $1 invested in fossil fuels by 2030. In 2021, bank financing for energy supply totalled $1.9 trillion, just over $1 trillion of which went to fossil fuels and $842 billion to low carbon energy projects and companies, according to the report. The bank financing ratio, of 81 cents to $1, was below the global energy supply investment ratio of 90 cents to $1. Individual banks' financing ratios varied. The report's findings differ from another study published by environmental groups last month which said the share of bank financing going to renewables had stagnated.

CNBC Select compared more than a dozen car loan lenders based on the types of loans offered, affordability, credit requirements and shopping experience they provide. Here are our top picks for car lenders that serve customers with bad or fair credit. It offers various types of loans, including used and new car loans, refinancing and lease buyouts. If you have bad credit, getting approved for a car loan without a co-signer can be more challenging — but it's still possible. The rates and fee structures advertised for car loans are subject to fluctuate in accordance with the Fed rate.

☆ Debt is poor fix for Italian soccer’s malaise
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Pamela Barbaglia | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Top soccer league Serie A needs cash to revamp its ailing media rights business. The division, which counts Lautaro Martínez and Paulo Dybala among its few world-class champions, made revenue of 2.5 billion euros in the 2020-2021 football season, nearly half the star-studded Premier League’s 5.5 billion euros, Deloitte data shows. Its broadcasting revenue has dropped more than 20% to about 1.1 billion euros since 2018, sources familiar with the situation told Reuters Breakingviews. Club owners would be better off entrusting independent executives to look after media rights. The Deutsche Fussball Liga, which runs Germany’s football league, is due to discuss the media rights sale at a meeting on Feb. 9.

☆ Exclusive: JPMorgan looking to finance Italy's Serie A for up to 1 bln euros - sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( Elvira Pollina | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The sources said the 20 clubs which comprise Serie A were informed of the interest by the U.S. bank at a closed-door meeting of their top executives on Thursday. Serie A has been looking at options to extract more money from its media rights, which account for roughly half the revenues of its clubs. Like other European soccer leagues, Serie A lags behind England's Premier League in terms of income and is looking at ways to revive its global appeal. Back in 2021 JPMorgan had offered to support soccer clubs looking to launch a breakaway European Super League, a plan which collapsed due to a storm of protest from fans and politicians. The sources said the Serie A clubs will assess in the coming weeks how to proceed in relation to the interest expressed by both the funds and JPMorgan.

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