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☆ Demand for private companies is high, but getting your hands on them is a big problem
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-22 | by ( Bob Pisani | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

If you have your heart set on investing in up-and-coming private companies, options exist, but are limited. Obviously, there is a strong desire to get into hot private market tech companies, even if at an irrational cost. The simplest way to do this would be to float an exchange traded fund, or ETF, that held these private shares. Forge Global launched the Forge Accuity Private Market Index, a market capitalization weighted index that tracks the performance of 60 late-stage venture-backed private companies like SpaceX and Epic Games. Bottom line: there is no easy way to access private shares.

Persons: Tech100, Cathie Wood, Howe Ng, Brett Winton Organizations: New York Stock Exchange, SpaceX, Klarna Bank, Tech100, ARKVX Venture, Forge Global, Epic Games, ARK Investment, Edge

The January-June operating loss at the privately held (BNPL) fintech, which last made a full-year profit in 2018, was 2.01 billion crowns ($185 million) against a year-earlier loss of 6.17 billion. "We feel very confident that we'll be posting a profitable quarter very soon and then eventually also a full profitable year." Klarna Bank is a unit of Klarna Holdings, which has attracted investment from the likes of Sequoia, Permira and Silver Lake. Siemiatkowski said Klarna, whose biggest market by revenue is the U.S., now has more than 30 million users. In the second quarter, gross merchandise volume (GMV) - the value of goods purchased through Klarna - was up 14%, and revenue growth was 17%.

Persons: Sebastian Siemiatkowski, Siemiatkowski, Klarna, Supantha Mukherjee, Anna Ringstrom, Terje Solsvik, Sharon Singleton Organizations: Klarna Bank, Reuters, Klarna, Klarna Holdings, Sequoia, Thomson Locations: STOCKHOLM, Ukraine, Silver, U.S, Klarna

☆ Edgy Campaigns Are Out, TikTok Won’t Stop and Other 2023 Predictions for Marketers
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( Patrick Coffee | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +11 min

Newsletter Sign-up WSJ | CMO Today CMO Today delivers the most important news of the day for media and marketing professionals. Most campaigns will focus on discounts to customers or showcase the usefulness of a company’s products, he said. Under this form of marketing, ad firms generally get paid upon completion of a desired end, such as a sale or download. In short, consumers should expect less “vacuous virtue-signaling” from marketers in the coming months, according to Mr. Proulx. But these platforms’ very struggles could result in ad bargains for marketers, said Mr. Solomon of Therabody.

LONDON/STOCKHOLM, Dec 7 (Reuters) - The European tech industry saw $400 billion in value wiped out this year and an 18% decline in venture capital funding, according to a report from venture capital firm Atomico. "The European tech ecosystem is facing the most challenging macroeconomic environment since the global financial crisis," Tom Wehmeier, partner at Atomico, told Reuters. Venture capital funding in Europe was down to $85 billion for the year, based on data collected across 41 countries, an 18% decline from the $100 billion raised in 2021. In a survey of founders and investors on the continent, 77% said they were either as enthusiastic, or more so, about the future of the European tech industry than in 2021. "The financial markets have changed, and with that, the expectations of everyone working within the European tech industry need to evolve."

[1/4] An Einride Pod, an electric self-driving truck developed by Einride, which has no cabin for a driver, is shown in this undated handout photo obtained by Reuters on November 3, 2021. Einride/Handout via REUTERS/File PhotoDec 7 (Reuters) - Swedish electric self-driving truck start-up Einride said on Wednesday it had agreed to raise capital of $500 million from debt, equity and the conversion of earlier loans, speeding up the company's ability to pursue new markets and customers. A $300 million debt facility was signed with Barclays Europe, while $200 million in equity came from new and existing investors, including EQT and Northzone, Einride said in a statement. Some $90 million of the equity came in the form of earlier debts being converted to shares. The company's business is based on self-driving technology for freight trucks, which has attracted investor attention in recent years as it is deemed to be cheaper as well as easier to roll out compared to self-driving cars.

☆ ‘Buy Now, Pay Later’ Is Still a Credit-Score Blind Spot
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-13 | by ( Annamaria Andriotis | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

U.S. consumers signed up for billions of dollars of “buy now, pay later” plans last year. Almost none are reflected in their credit scores. Equifax Experian PLC and TransUnion began allowing buy now, pay later companies to report their short-term payment plans earlier this year. But some of the biggest players in the business, including Affirm Holdings Klarna Bank AB and Afterpay aren’t yet doing so.

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