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☆ Many large U.S. cities are in deep financial trouble. Here's why
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-25 | by ( Carlos Waters | In Carloswaters | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Municipal governments across the United States are looking to rein in spending as pandemic-era stimulus dries up and inflation lingers for longer than expected. The group issued a AA investment grade general obligation bond rating for New York City in March 2024. The financial challenges within cities appear to be mounting despite high municipal credit ratings and robust demand for urban commodities like housing. "I think we can all agree that we're broke," said Houston Mayor John Whitmire in a March 2024 City Council budget hearing. Meanwhile, in the case of New York City, leaders remain optimistic about future returns.

Persons: Michael Rinaldi, Brad Lander, Sheila Weinberg, we're, Houston Mayor John Whitmire, Weinberg, We've, Lander, Eric Adams, Rinaldi, Adams Organizations: Fitch, AA, New, Truth, University of Denver, New York, Apple, Houston Mayor, Accounting, CNBC, Lander Locations: United States, U.S, New York City, Chicago, Houston, Portland , Oregon, New York

☆ Bank of America helps its clients sell their art, watches, and Birkin bags. It's all part of a drive to be the one-stop shop for the art world.
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-25 | by ( Hayley Cuccinello | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Most banks, including UBS and Morgan Stanley, refer clients to third-party consultants to broker deals with auction houses. The bank secured a minimum sale price guarantee and negotiated how the house would market the painting. Courtesy of Bank of AmericaThe bank typically approaches two to three auction houses, such as Christie's, Sotheby's, and Philips. You've got to look at it in the holistic context of the sales strategy and also the financial terms," Watson explained. Advertisement"We try to get them to sharpen their pencil while we still have leverage with the other houses," Watson said.

Persons: Bank of America's Drew Watson, Watson, Morgan Stanley, Henri Rousseau, Whitney, Les, Drew Watson, Price, You've, Merrill Lynch, Birkin Organizations: Service, Bank of America's, UBS, Bank of America, Bank of, of America, Christie's, Philips Locations: Bank

☆ Emails show how a right-wing group steers GOP leaders on major policy issues
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-17 | by ( Bob Ortega | Daniel Medina | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +18 min

Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft speaks with reporters on Jan. 23 in Jefferson City, Missouri. In Wyoming, a GOP state senator forwarded an FGA draft bill to Secretary of State Chuck Gray that would prohibit sending out unsolicited absentee ballot request forms. Emails show the group strategized with the secretary of state’s office for weeks leading up to Ashcroft proposing his own such rule last January. FGA notches wins with weakened child labor lawsFGA’s lobbying group, The Opportunity Solutions Project, spearheads its efforts at the state level. Chip Somodevilla/Getty ImagesFGA also continues its push at the state level across the country to enact its policy priorities.

Persons: State Jay Ashcroft, “, Ashcroft, Kacen Bayless, FGA, –, Chuck Gray, ” Gray, Gray, ”, Joe Biden’s, Jay, Daniel Garrett, Garrett, “ It’s, Missouri’s, Scott Fitzpatrick, BlackRock, ” Fitzpatrick, Mark Felix, Fitzpatrick, ALEC, Andy Puzder, Carls Jr, ” Puzder, Kristina Shelton, Puzder, ” Kristina Shelton, they’ve, Tarren Bragdon, Rebecca Burkes, It’s, Tyson, ’, Bragdon, Sarah Bryner, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, Paul Renner, Donald Trump, Chip Somodevilla, Shelton, ” Shelton Organizations: CNN, State, Republican, Foundation, Government, Missouri, Kansas City Star, Tribune, Service, GOP, Ashcroft, Conservative, Missouri Chamber of Commerce, National, University of Pennsylvania, Brookings Institution, Exxon, BlackRock, ” BlackRock, Energy, ExxonMobil, Washington Post, American Legislative Exchange Council, Heritage Foundation, Heritage, Boston, Wisconsin Democratic, FGA, Solutions, Tyson Foods Inc, George’s Inc, US Department of Labor, Solutions Project, Daily, The Heritage Foundation, Alliance, Trump, Florida Governor, Bragdon, Florida House, House, FBI, Justice Department, Department of Education, Center, Pleaides Locations: Missouri, Texas, Jefferson City , Missouri, Wyoming, Kansas , Indiana, BlackRock, Florida, ExxonMobil Baytown, Baytown , Texas, Washington, ” Wisconsin, Wisconsin, Arkansas, Iowa, Park City , Utah, DeSantis, Rome , Georgia

The Group of 20 major economies did reach consensus on an official communique but omitted any mention of the Israel-Hamas war. Senior World Bank Group officials were more pointed in a statement to staff, saying they were "shocked and appalled by the unprecedented escalation of violence in Israel and Gaza." "We condemn terrorism in all forms, including the abhorrent targeting of innocent civilians and kidnapping," the leaders of the World Bank, the International Finance Corp and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency, said in an internal statement seen by Reuters. "Geopolitical shocks are economic shocks now and economic shocks are geopolitical shocks - and they're trying to detach the two." Reporting by Andrea Shalal and David Lawder; Editing by Giles Elgood and Stephen CoatesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Kristalina Georgieva, that's, Rachel Nadelman, Joe Biden, China's Xi, Ajay Banga, Josh Lipsky, Andrea Shalal, David Lawder, Giles Elgood, Stephen Coates Organizations: Global, International Monetary Fund, World Bank, IMF, West Bank, Reuters, Research Center, U.S, Treasury, Bank Group, International Finance Corp, Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency, GeoEconomics, Thomson Locations: MARRAKECH, Morocco, Israel, Gaza, Lebanon, Ukraine, United States, China, Africa

IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva did not mention the new conflict at opening events. The inability to respond extended to chair's statements issued by the Group of 20 major economies and the IMF and World Bank steering committees, which failed to mention the conflict. "You know, without peace, it's hard for people to get stability, growth, look after their children, get jobs," he said. But conflicts remain the biggest challenge to the global economy, said Josh Lipsky, a former IMF official who directs the Atlantic Council's GeoEconomics Center. "Geopolitical shocks are economic shocks now and economic shocks are geopolitical shocks - and they're trying to detach the two."

Persons: Kristalina Georgieva, that's, Rachel Nadelman, Joe Biden, China's Xi, Ajay Banga, Josh Lipsky, Andrea Shalal, David Lawder, Giles Elgood Organizations: Global, International Monetary Fund, World Bank, IMF, West Bank, Reuters, Research Center, Group, GeoEconomics, Thomson Locations: MARRAKECH, Morocco, Israel, Gaza, Lebanon, Ukraine, United States, China, Bali, Africa

☆ Jamie Foxx plays attorney Willie Gary in new movie "The Burial." Ex-clients say the real lawyer is a creep who screwed them out of millions.
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-14 | by ( Jack Newsham | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +16 min

"The Burial" stars Jamie Foxx as real-life lawyer Willie Gary, who won a $500 million case in 1995. Elliott isn't the only ex-client of Willie Gary and his firm, Gary Williams Parenti Watson & Gary, to be angry about how she was treated. Lawyer Willie Gary poses for a selfie with a guest at a screening of "The Burial." Attorney Willie Gary and his client Don King speaking to the press in 2005. She has so far managed to seize $102,000 from an account the Gary firm had with Truist.

Persons: Jamie Foxx, Willie Gary, Gary —, —, Gary, Ernestine Elliott, Ford —, Elliott, Elliott isn't, Gary Williams Parenti Watson, Tommy Lee Jones, Luisa Esposito, Grant Halverson, Willie Gary's, Willie, couldn't, Jeremiah O'Keefe, O'Keefe, Loewen couldn't, Loewen, Gary Parenti, Don King, Jim McIsaac, Ford, schemed, he'd, Gary's cocounsels, Lawrence Fox, Fox, Bruce Green, Green, Gary didn't, Sharron Mangum, Mr, Mangum, Marietta Goodman, Coke, Jillian Nedd, Nedd, Ardria Clark, Tamesha Marshall, Pharr, Clark, Marshall, Ray Rogers, He's, leafleted, Rogers, Willie Lewis, Troy Fulks Jr, Fulks, Lewis, Esposito, she'd, didn't, Justice II, hasn't, Gary's, Debra Sweeting, it's, Sweeting, we're, Variety Organizations: Service, Disney, Nissan, Hollywood, reneging, Gary Parenti Facebook, Anheuser, Busch, Yorker, Group, New Yorker, Fordham, Cola, Coke, FBI, Gary, Florida Bar Association, Palm Beach Post, Florida Power, dimes, Finance Group, Wings, Justice, Boeing, Gary Foundation Locations: Georgia, Florida, Mississippi, New York City, New York, Palm Beach, Flint , Michigan, disbursements

☆ Consumer finance group seeks more privacy in digital euro use
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-03 | by ( Huw Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A sculpture of Euro symbol is pictured in front of the European Parliament in Brussels, Belgium, May 2, 2018. REUTERS/Francois Lenoir/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsLONDON, Oct 3 (Reuters) - Tougher privacy safeguards are needed for using a digital euro online, consumer lobby Finance Watch said on Tuesday, in the latest sign of mounting "Big Brother" concerns policymakers are having to confront. Finance Watch said it accepted that some concessions would have to be made to ensure a digital euro is not used for money-laundering, making full, cash-like anonymity of digital payments difficult to achieve. Nevertheless, as drafted, the proposed EU law gives higher levels of privacy to offline use of a digital euro stored in a customers "wallet", Finance Watch said. "While the proposed approach to offline transactions goes a long way towards offering cash-like privacy, a higher level of privacy and data protection should also be applied to small, low-value online transactions," Finance Watch said.

Persons: Francois Lenoir, Mairead McGuinness, Huw Jones, Mark Potter Organizations: REUTERS, Finance, European Central Bank, Federal Reserve, Bank of England, European Commission, Finance Watch, Big Tech, EU, The Bank of England, Thomson Locations: Brussels, Belgium, EU

☆ Craig Karmin — Editor at The Wall Street Journal
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-25 | by ( Craig Karmin | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Craig KarminCraig Karmin is the real estate bureau chief for The Wall Street Journal. Prior to that he was the markets editor for the Journal’s finance group. Craig earlier worked as a reporter at the Journal, where he covered the hospitality industry and real estate. Craig holds political science and journalism degrees from University of California, Berkeley, and he won a National Association of Real Estate Editors award for his story about prisons that were converted into hotels. His book, “Biography of the Dollar,” was a best-seller and has been translated into several languages.

Persons: Craig Karmin Craig Karmin, Craig, ” Organizations: The Wall Street, Hill, Washington , D.C, Soviet Union, Eastern Bloc, University of California, National Association of Real Estate Locations: Washington ,, Prague, Soviet, Berkeley

☆ Terra Firma Capital Partners founder Guy Hands steps down from company's helm
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, July 21 (Reuters) - British financier Guy Hands has stepped down as CEO and chairman of private equity firm Terra Firma Capital Partners, according to a company statement sent to Reuters. Richard Hands and Paul Hatter will lead the company as managing director and chief operating officer, respectively. "Guy wants to change the focus of his life giving him more time to work on his and his wife Julia's philanthropic interests whilst continuing to be involved in the portfolio businesses that are Hands Family Investments, as well as in the legacy Terra Firma fund investment Annington, sitting on the boards that work with those investments," the statement read. Guy Hands founded Terra Firma in 2002 through the spin-out of Japanese bank Nomura's Principal Finance Group (PFG), which he used to lead. Reporting by Pablo Mayo Cerqueiro, Editing by Louise HeavensOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Guy Hands, Richard Hands, Paul Hatter, Guy, Pablo Mayo Cerqueiro, Louise Heavens Organizations: Terra Firma Capital Partners, Reuters, Investments, Terra Firma, Nomura's, Finance Group, Thomson Locations: British

☆ Terra Firma founder Guy Hands steps down from company's helm
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

"When I founded Terra Firma over 20 years ago, I vowed that I would retire from the firm 'when I'm 64', as per the eponymous Beatles song. Terra Firma will be led by Guy's son and managing director Richard Hands and its chief operating officer Paul Hatter, the company said in a statement. Guy Hands founded Terra Firma in 2002 through the spin-out of Japanese bank Nomura's Principal Finance Group (PFG), which he used to lead. Terra Firma is now invested in 39 companies with an aggregate enterprise value of 51 billion euros ($56.7 billion), according to the company's website. Other business backed by Terra Firma include Australian cattle company CPC.

Persons: Guy Hands, Guy's, Richard Hands, Paul Hatter, Terra, Hands, Julia, Pablo Mayo Cerqueiro, Iain Withers, Louise Heavens, David Holmes Organizations: Terra Firma Capital Partners, EMI, Terra Firma, Reuters, Sky News, Nomura's, Finance Group, Citigroup, CPC, Thomson

☆ Asia's private credit markets thrive as desperate borrowers find lenders
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-20 | by ( Rae Wee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Private lenders, meanwhile, had "significant liquidity" to deploy for such financings, proving to be a right fit. Besides property developers, borrowers thronging private markets include privately-held companies and start-ups whose private equity issuance has been stymied by broader stock market swings and the deepening discounts of their valuations, known as a 'down round' in the industry. Investment firm Muzinich & Co. recently announced it had closed a $500 million Asia Pacific private debt strategy. Australian superannuation fund UniSuper, which runs a $15 billion private markets portfolio investing in unlisted infrastructure and private equity, is looking to grow its portfolio. "Just given the pipeline of opportunities, we could see ourselves potentially ... (doing) another $3 to $5 billion," said Sandra Lee, UniSuper's head of private markets.

Persons: Bryan Clark, Andrew Tan, Tan, Sandra Lee, UniSuper's, Shane Forster, Benno Klingenberg, Timm, Rae Wee, Georgina Lee, Vidya Ranganathan, Kim Coghill Organizations: Star, JLL, Western, Muzinich, Asia Pacific, Muzinich's Asia Pacific, ICE, Bain Capital, India's, Mahindra Bank, Hong Kong's ADM, BlackRock, Data, Barclays, UBS, Thomson Locations: SINGAPORE, Arizona, Asia, Hong Kong, Singapore

☆ Santander boss Botin expected to extol Europe, payout to sway investors
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( Jesús Aguado | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Shares in Santander, the euro zone's second-biggest bank by market value, have fallen 47% since Sept. 10, 2014, while the European Stoxx 600 banks index (.SX7P) is down around 18%. "The bank will have a tailwind ... because half of the money comes from Europe. PAY-OUT FOCUSSome analysts expect a higher shareholder payout to be main plank of Santander's investor update in London. But lower valuations than European rivals and a better outlook for retail banks could help drive a share price rebound. Santander trades at a price to book value of 0.65%, compared to an average 0.73% from European peers.

Finance chiefs are coming into the year grappling with a variety of challenges, from rising interest rates and inflation to managing labor disruptions, pricing and inventory. Newsletter Sign-up WSJ | CFO Journal The Morning Ledger provides daily news and insights on corporate finance from the CFO Journal team. “But…there’s more and more of a belief that any kind of downturn will be short and shallow, frankly. Some finance chiefs, meanwhile, are finding opportunities to expand in the volatile economy. You can’t take everything that your vendors are sending you.”Labor woes persistHiring, however, remains a challenge for finance chiefs.

☆ Renewed U.S. junk bond rally ignites hope for more stuck buyout debt
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( Matt Tracy | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

This exercise now has more impetus on expectations that junk bond prices will continue to rally in the wake of Powell's comments, which raised hopes of slowing rate hikes and a so-called economic soft landing. Junk bond spreads on average tightened 37 basis points on Wednesday, the day of Powell's remarks, from a day earlier, according to ICE BAML data. This is around the level in September when banks sold only about half of the total $15 billion of debt through a U.S. dollar bond, leveraged loan and a Euro-denominated loan. Reuters could not confirm the exact amount sold in these sales and balance of LBO debt still left with banks. Banks could consider selling larger parcels of LBO debt in the primary bond markets where there has been a surge in new issue supply, said the sources.

☆ Blockchain Fails to Gain Traction in the Enterprise
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Isabelle Bousquette | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +7 min

Newsletter Sign-up WSJ | CIO Journal The Morning Download delivers daily insights and news on business technology from the CIO Journal team. Some companies say they haven’t found a compelling enough reason to use it. Many didn’t have digital record-keeping systems and had to make large upfront investments before they could start using blockchain, Walmart said. Walmart is using blockchain to track leafy greens and green bell peppers. Earlier this year, the state of Jharkhand in eastern India began using blockchain to track seed distributions to farmers.

☆ Vanguard's decision to leave the world's biggest climate-finance group could impede Biden's plan to protect Americans' savings from the climate crisis
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( Ayelet Sheffey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Vanguard announced on Wednesday it's pulling out of an initiative to fight climate change. Biden previously proposed a plan to involve the financial sector in reaching net zero carbon emissions. As Insider previously reported, Biden last year released a report that focused on mitigating the financial risks climate change puts on people's retirements, pensions, savings, and more. However, Republicans have plans to increase oversight over Wall Street firms that are assessing climate change and prioritizing environmental, social and governance causes, known as ESG. Still, the world is making some progress toward fighting the financial risks of climate crisis.

Nov 14 (Reuters) - UK-founded law firm Linklaters on Monday said it has hired a finance-focused partner from Sidley Austin in New York to head its energy and infrastructure practice in the Americas. Ron Erlichman specializes in the financing and development of infrastructure projects, particularly renewable energy and carbon neutral projects, according to an archived profile on Sidley Austin’s website. Prior to Sidley, Erlichman co-chaired the project finance group at Houston-headquartered law firm Bracewell. Erlichman’s experience in the renewable energy and project finance practices “will be invaluable as we guide domestic and international clients through the rapidly changing and complex U.S. energy and infrastructure market,” Linklaters global energy and infrastructure group leader Daniel Tryer said in a statement. A Sidley Austin spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Erlichman’s departure.

☆ 5 lessons for success and happiness on Wall Street — from a Bank of America rising star turned doula and Reiki master
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( Emmalyse Brownstein | Alex Morrell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

Laura Hayward started her Wall Street career at Morgan Stanley during the financial crisis. Hayward, who rose ranks at Bank of America, shares what she learned to be both successful and happy on Wall Street. "I'd always been a finance person at work and a spiritual person and hippie outside of work," Hayward told Insider. After seven years at BofA, and more than a decade on Wall Street, she left this summer. Wall Street work life is stereotypically perceived as draconian — leaving little room for individuality.

☆ Big Banks and U.N. Green Finance Group Clash in Alliance
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( David Benoit | Amrith Ramkumar | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

An uprising by banks in a United Nations -sponsored climate coalition has been quelled but opened wounds that could weaken an alliance meant to funnel trillions of dollars to fund the transition away from fossil fuels. Getting banks to sign on to the coalition was a marquee achievement of the U.N. climate conference in Glasgow. Since then, fuel shortages and pressure from politicians and regulators led banks to push back against what they thought were tighter rules.

☆ Wall Street's rising stars admit their biggest career mistakes — from missing out on lucrative bets to taking too much on — and what they learned from them
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-24 | by ( Alex Morrell | Alyson Velati | Asia Martin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +17 min

Vinay Trivedi, a vice president at General Atlantic focusing on the technology sector. I don't think we necessarily transitioned fast enough to how people learn if we're only doing audio from home. - David Israel, 27, vice president at Credit SuisseAngel Pu Shum is a principal within Warburg Pincus's technology group. -Allison Boxer, 29, senior vice president and economist at PIMCONoah Zerance, a vice president with Bank of America's global sustainable-finance group. and the response would be, 'Well, we don't know how we do it yet.

Their joint communique released by the U.S. Treasury late on Wednesday did give Japan something - but it was thin gruel. read more"Recognizing that many currencies have moved significantly this year with increased volatility, we reaffirm our exchange rate commitments as elaborated in May 2017," the G7 wrote. And, for the record, the 2017 phraseology was that excess volatility and disorderly currency moves have negative impacts on their economies and financial stability. read more"We cannot tolerate excessive volatility in the currency market driven by speculative moves," he opined after. The big question is whether this dollar surge is in fact a "short run" aberration or whether it is a more permanent feature of the global landscape.

☆ Leaders from Walmart, AB InBev, Honeywell, Carlyle, and more share advice for getting started — and sticking to — sustainability goals
▼ + stars: | 2022-07-22 | by ( Julia Hood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +26 min

Sustainability leaders from Walmart, JUST Capital, Dow, Honeywell, Cognizant, Deloitte, Bank of America, AB InBev, and Carlyle participated. If you're just looking for a science partner, you're going to go and get the science. So then we started building debriefs for our portfolio companies, actually making them sit down and have a conversation with us. Because as long as you do it with integrity, you're going to probably get to the right place. I remember him saying when we talked about the idea, "what you're trying to achieve with that, is somewhere between really, really, really, really hard and impossible."

☆ As families and 'Parrotheads' flock to campgrounds and RV parks, institutional real-estate investors see their next big score
▼ + stars: | 2022-05-23 | by ( Alex Nicoll | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

Investors are eyeing profits in campgrounds and RV parks as Americans flock to the great outdoors. Camp Margaritaville RV Resort and Cabana Cabins Auburndale, Central FloridaThe trend is also driven by demographics. Sam Zell's Equity Lifestyle Properties, another large REIT that invests in RV parks alongside mobile homes, has also been busy. While it's not clear how much big investors have thrown into RV campgrounds, manufactured housing communities as a whole have seen a burst of Wall Street financing. After looking hard at multifamily and industrial, he settled with RV parks.

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