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☆ Rakuten's mobile misadventure: from ambitious plan to millstone
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-29 | by ( Anton Bridge | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

By any measure, cash-bleeding Rakuten Mobile is deeply troubled. Rakuten is set for another tough year in 2024 with investors keen to see if it can achieve its goal of having the mobile unit break even. Those steps have raised some 800 billion yen ($5.4 billion). Then in October, SoftBank Corp (9434.T), Japan's No.3 mobile network provider, began offering a generous reward campaign for most mobile users using SoftBank Group's (9984.T) PayPay online payment system. Without profits, the mobile unit is not likely to entice would-be suitors and competition laws would probably prevent the likes of SoftBank and Docomo from bidding.

Persons: Japan's Rakuten, Hiroshi, Mickey, Rakuten, Mitsunobu Tsuruo, Rakuten's, NTT Docomo, Mikitani, Amir Anvarzadeh, Anton Bridge, David Dolan, Edwina Gibbs Organizations: Citi, Amazon Japan, Rakuten Securities, Rakuten Bank, SBI Securities, GUNNING, Rakuten Mobile, Reuters, NTT, SoftBank Corp, Asymmetric Advisors, Thomson Locations: TOKYO, ARPU

☆ Goldman profit tops estimates as dealmaking cushions hit from GreenSky, real estate
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The Wall Street giant's net profit slumped 33% to $2.06 billion, or $5.47 per share, it said on Tuesday. Goldman's investment banking fees of $1.55 billion was largely unchanged from last year as debt underwriting activity resumed and the market for initial public offerings picked up. Goldman had taken a charge of $504 million on GreenSky in the second quarter. Solomon has shifted the firm's focus back to its traditional strengths - investment banking and trading, and aims to grow in asset and wealth management. Investment banking results have been mixed for peers, with JPMorgan Chase (JPM.N) reporting a 6% decline in revenue, while Citigroup (C.N) said fees jumped 34%.

Persons: Goldman Sachs, Brendan McDermid, Solomon, Goldman, SoftBank Group's, Morgan Stanley, Niket Nishant, Noor Zainab Hussain, Saeed Azhar, Lananh Nguyen, Arun Koyyur Organizations: New York Stock Exchange, REUTERS, Arm Holdings, Sixth Street Partners, Investment, JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, U.S . Federal, Thomson Locations: New York, U.S, Bengaluru

☆ JPMorgan profit surges on record interest income, First Republic purchase
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

JPMorgan Chase Bank is seen in New York City, U.S., March 21, 2023. REUTERS/Caitlin Ochs/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsOct 13 (Reuters) - JPMorgan Chase's (JPM.N) profit rose in the third quarter as surging rates and the acquisition of failed First Republic Bank drove its interest income to a record high, the largest U.S. lender reported on Friday. Shares of the bank rose 0.6% in premarket trading. It also hiked its 2023 NII forecast to $89 billion, excluding markets, compared with a prior forecast of $87 billion. The lender reported a profit of $13.15 billion, or $4.33 per share, for the three months ended Sept. 30.

Persons: Caitlin Ochs, JPMorgan Chase's, Jamie Dimon, Dimon, SoftBank Group's, Niket, Nupur Anand, Lananh Nguyen, Anil D'Silva Organizations: JPMorgan Chase Bank, REUTERS, JPMorgan, Bank, First Republic, Wall Street, Arm Holdings, Investment, Thomson Locations: New York City, U.S, Ukraine, Israel, Bengaluru, New York

☆ JPMorgan profit beats estimates on record interest income, First Republic purchase
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Caitlin Ochs/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsOct 13 (Reuters) - JPMorgan Chase (JPM.N) beat expectations for third-quarter profit on Friday as a tighter monetary policy and the acquisition of failed First Republic Bank drove its interest income to a record high. Shares of the bank rose 1.1% to $147.40 in premarket trading. Rivas, who previously ran the financial institutions group, was one of JPMorgan's lead negotiators in its purchase of First Republic. The lender's profit rose 35% to $13.15 billion, or $4.33 per share, for the three months ended Sept. 30. Excluding one-time costs, the bank reported a profit of $4.50 per share, above analysts' average estimate of $3.96 per share, according to LSEG IBES data.

Persons: Caitlin Ochs, JPMorgan Chase, Jamie Dimon, Dimon, NII, SoftBank Group's, Jeremy Barnum, Fernando Rivas, Rivas, JPMorgan's, Jay Horine, Wells Fargo, Niket, Nupur Anand, Lananh Nguyen, Anil D'Silva Organizations: JPMorgan Chase Bank, REUTERS, JPMorgan, Bank, First Republic, First, Federal, Arm Holdings, Investment, Reuters, Thomson Locations: New York City, U.S, Ukraine, Israel, First Republic, North America, Bengaluru, New York

The indicative price range was set at 1,830-1,840 yen per share, KKR-backed Kokusai said in a regulatory filing on Tuesday, compared with 1,890 yen previously. Kokusai said the lower range reflected the view of institutional investors and the state of the stock market. If its IPO prices at the top of the range, Kokusai, which manufactures machines that deposit thin films on silicon wafers, will offer 108.3 billion yen ($729 million) worth of shares and have a market valuation of 423.9 billion yen, excluding an overallotment. Capital Research and Management and Lazard Asset Management have committed to purchase shares at the offer price, Kokusai said in a separate filing. Kokusai's largest customers are Samsung Electronics (005930.KS), TSMC (2330.TW) and Micron Technology (MU.O), collectively accounting for more than 40% of its revenue.

Persons: Kokusai, SoftBank Group's, Sam Nussey, Makiko Yamazaki, Miho Uranaka, Kaori Kaneko, Christian Schmollinger, Sonali Paul, Edmund Klamann Organizations: Kokusai, KKR, Capital Research, Management, Lazard Asset Management, Samsung Electronics, Micron Technology, Investors, Micron, Thomson Locations: TOKYO

☆ Instacart raises IPO price range after robust Arm debut
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The price hike signals robust investor demand for San Francisco-based Instacart, which is looking to finally list its shares this month after years of waiting in the wings. Investors will be pinning hopes on robust debuts from Instacart, Klaviyo and Neumora to carry the momentum in the IPO market after Arm's strong showing on Thursday. Instacart said it is now seeking to sell 22 million shares at $28 to $30 each. At the top end of the range, the IPO will fetch $660 million compared with the earlier target of $616 million. The company's raised valuation target, however, would still be just one-fourth of the $39 billion it was worth after its last funding round more than two years ago.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Group's, Instacart, Goldman Sachs, J.P, Morgan, Niket, Krishna Chandra Organizations: REUTERS, Arm Holdings, San, Neumora Therapeutics, Instacart, Cornerstone, PepsiCo, Instacart's, Thomson Locations: San Francisco, Bengaluru

☆ SoftBank's Arm by the numbers
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Arm CEO Rene Haas rings the opening bell, as Softbank's Arm, chip design firm, holds an initial public offering (IPO) at Nasdaq Market site in New York, U.S., September 14, 2023. Arm says it has a 10% share in cloud computing chips, 41% in automotive chips, 25.5% in networking and 64.5% in Internet of Things. That makes Arm China, not better-known names like Apple (AAPL.O) or Qualcomm (QCOM.O), Arm's largest customer. Arm China, in which Arm itself is in effect only a minority shareholder, underwent a nearly two-year boardroom battle between its local chief and shareholders that ended last year. In its latest earnings for the June quarter, SoftBank valued Arm at $45 billion, but two months later, it bought back a 25% stake in Arm that had been owned by SoftBank's investment vehicle, the Vision Fund, at a $64 billion valuation.

Persons: Rene Haas, Brendan McDermid, Group's, Arm, SoftBank, Anton Bridge, Miyoung Kim, Kim Coghill Organizations: Nasdaq, REUTERS, Arm Holdings, Apple, Qualcomm, SoftBank, Nvidia, Devices, Intel, Samsung Electronics, Vision, Thomson Locations: New York, U.S, United States, China, CHINA, Tokyo

With retail investors holding individual stocks for less than a year on average, recent history suggests they could lose money, a Reuters analysis shows. Even institutional investors invited to buy into those 10 IPOs before trading would be down an average of 18%. "For almost all retail investors, buying and holding a low-cost index fund is the best strategy." Arm's debut and an upcoming listing from grocery delivery service Instacart are expected to rejuvenate a lackluster IPO market which has slowed over the past two years due to volatility and economic uncertainty. Instacart will be offering some retail investors a chance to buy into its IPO via underwriter fintech company SoFi, its prospectus said.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Japan's SoftBank Group's, Jay Ritter, Marco Iachini, it's, Ritter, Lance Tupper, Anirban Sen, Echo Wang, Michelle Price, Richard Chang Organizations: REUTERS, Retail, Holdings, Reuters, U.S, Investors, University of Florida, Nvidia, GameStop, Vanda Research, Instacart, IPOs, Thomson Locations: British, New York

CEO of Goldman Sachs David Solomon participates in a panel titled "Empowering Women as Entrepreneurs and Leaders" at the 2023 Spring Meetings of the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund in Washington, U.S., April 13, 2023. Goldman Sachs is shedding its consumer businesses after its foray into retail banking flopped. "I definitely do feel better about the capital markets," Solomon said in the wide-ranging interview. Solomon also said U.S. regulatory proposals for stricter bank capital rules have "gone too far." "I am focused on Goldman Sachs," he said.

Persons: Goldman Sachs David Solomon, Elizabeth Frantz, Goldman Sachs, David Solomon, that's, Solomon's, Solomon, SoftBank, Banks, Saeed Azhar, Lananh Nguyen, Jonathan Oatis, Jamie Freed, Deepa Babington Organizations: World Bank Group, International Monetary Fund, REUTERS, CNBC, T Arm Holdings, Federal Reserve, Thomson Locations: Washington , U.S, U.S

☆ TSMC to decide this week whether to invest in Arm IPO
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-06 | by ( Ben Blanchard | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A smartphone with a displayed TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company) logo is placed on a computer motherboard in this illustration taken March 6, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsTAIPEI, Sept 6 (Reuters) - TSMC (2330.TW), the world's largest contract chipmaker, will decide this week whether to invest in chip designer Arm Holdings' blockbuster initial public offering (IPO), Chairman Mark Liu said on Wednesday. Speaking on the sidelines of the SEMICON Taiwan summit, Liu said his company was still evaluating the matter and, when pressed on when a decision may come, he added "this week". "Arm is an important element of our ecosystem, our technology and our customers' ecosystem. I’m sure it will be a very successful project," he said.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Mark Liu, Liu, SoftBank Group's, TSMC, Ben Blanchard, Anne Marie Roantree, Stephen Coates Organizations: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, REUTERS, Rights, Arm Holdings, Apple, Nvidia, Devices, Intel, Samsung Electronics, Thomson Locations: Rights TAIPEI, Taiwan, U.S ., Arizona

Arm kicked off its roadshow in Baltimore, where influential asset manager T Rowe Price is headquartered, underscoring the fund manager's significance in big IPOs. Arm disclosed the proposed range would value it at between $48 billion and $52 billion. The valuation that Arm is chasing represents a climb-down from the $64 billion valuation at which SoftBank last month acquired the 25% stake it did not already own in the company from its $100 billion Vision Fund. Jamie Mills O’Brien, portfolio manager at British fund manager Abrdn, said he found SoftBank's valuation ask in the IPO "more palatable than initially discussed." Unlike most loss-making but high-growth tech companies that debut with lofty valuations but later plummet below list price, Arm is profitable.

Persons: Group's, T Rowe Price, SoftBank, Jamie Mills O’Brien, Abrdn, Arm, Dado Ruvic, Sara Russo, Bernstein, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Manya Saini, Pablo Mayo, Arun Koyyur, Nick Zieminski Organizations: Arm Holdings, Rivian Automotive Inc, Sands, Cambridge, Vision, Nvidia Corp, Apple, Nvidia, Devices, Intel, Samsung Electronics, REUTERS, Acorn Computers, Apple Computer, VLSI Technology, London Stock Exchange, Nasdaq, SoftBank, Inc, Reuters, Barclays, JPMorgan, Mizuho Financial Group, underwriters, Pablo Mayo Cerqueiro, Thomson Locations: Baltimore, Arlington , Virginia, England, China, United States, Bengaluru, London, Lincoln

☆ SoftBank's Arm aims for over $52 bln valuation in biggest US IPO of the year
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-05 | by ( Manya Saini | Thomson Reuters | Manya Saini Reports On Prominent Publicly Listed U.S. Financial Firms Including Wall Street S Biggest Banks | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

The valuation that Arm is chasing now represents a climb-down from the $64 billion valuation at which SoftBank last month acquired the 25% stake it did not already own in the company from its $100 billion Vision Fund. Jamie Mills O’Brien, portfolio manager at British fund manager Abrdn, said he found SoftBank's valuation ask in the IPO "more palatable than initially discussed." REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsReuters first reported on SoftBank's proposed price range for the IPO on Saturday. If the underwriters exercise their right to buy shares in Arm in full as part of 'greenshoe option', it would take the IPO amount to be raised to $5.2 billion. Arm expects to trade on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol "ARM".

Persons: Group's, SoftBank, Jamie Mills O’Brien, Abrdn, Kim Kyung, Sara Russo, Bernstein, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Manya Saini, Pablo Mayo, Arun Koyyur, Nick Zieminski Organizations: Vision, Nvidia Corp, Apple, Nvidia, Devices, Intel, Samsung Electronics, REUTERS, Rights Reuters, Acorn Computers, Apple Computer, VLSI Technology, London Stock Exchange, Nasdaq, SoftBank, Barclays, JPMorgan, Mizuho Financial Group, underwriters, Pablo Mayo Cerqueiro, Thomson Locations: United Kingdom, China, United States, New York, Tokyo, Japan, Bengaluru, London

☆ Ampere says flagship chip to be offered by Google Cloud
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-29 | by ( Stephen Nellis | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Aug 29 (Reuters) - Ampere Computing, a semiconductor firm headed by ex-Intel executives that is planning to list its shares publicly, said on Tuesday its flagship chips will be offered by Alphabet's (GOOGL.O) Google Cloud service. The deal is significant because cloud computing firms such as Google are some of the biggest buyers of data center chips. Jeff Wittich, Ampere's chief product officer, said more deals with other cloud providers will follow later this year, but he declined to name them. Ampere's chips use technology from SoftBank Group's (9984.T) Arm, which revealed earlier this month in initial public offering filings that it owns a 6.8% stake in Ampere. Ampere's chips aim to use less energy than rival chips from Intel while doing similar kinds of computing work.

Persons: Jeff Wittich, SoftBank Group's, Wittich, Stephen Nellis, Paul Simao Organizations: Ampere Computing, Intel, Alphabet's, Google, Oracle, Amazon.com, Thomson Locations: San Francisco

SoftBank plans to hold off giving details on the fee structure until one to four days prior the pricing of Arm's IPO, expected in September, the sources added. Arm, SoftBank, Goldman, Barclays and Mizuho declined to comment. To be sure, the banks on Arm's IPO view their assignment as part of a wider investment banking relationship that pays on many fronts. Many of them also arranged an $8.5 billion margin loan for SoftBank secured against a 75% stake in Arm. Banks have generated about $3.4 billion in IPO fees globally year-to-date, down 21.3% from the same period last year, according to data provider Dealogic.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Arm, SoftBank Group's, SoftBank, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, JP Morgan, Banks, Echo Wang, Anirban Sen, Greg Roumeliotis, Matthew Lewis Organizations: REUTERS, clamoring, JPMorgan, Barclays, Mizuho Financial Group, Rivian, underwriters, Goldman, Mizuho, U.S, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, New York

☆ Arm’s IPO risks shine brighter than its potential
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-22 | by ( Karen Kwok | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Arm’s revenue is still dominated by its mainstay smartphone business, which contributed to the recent growth slowdown. Nor is Arm’s revenue particularly easy to forecast. In the most recent quarter, which ended on June 30, Arm’s revenue fell by more than 2% year-on-year to $675 million. Arm’s owner, SoftBank Group, was previously planning to sell between $8 billion and $10 billion of shares. SoftBank will have the right to appoint seven out of eight directors to Arm’s board after the IPO, provided its shareholding remains above 70%.

Persons: SoftBank Group's, That’s, Masayoshi Son, hasn’t, SoftBank, Liam Proud, Streisand Neto Organizations: Reuters, Nvidia, Reuters Graphics Reuters, U.S, Nasdaq, SoftBank, Thomson Locations: China, British

☆ Asia markets largely rise as 10-year U.S. Treasury yield hits 16-year high
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-22 | by ( Lim Hui Jie | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

The ICC International Commerce Centre, and Hong Kong's brand new museum of visual culture, Victoria harbor, Hong Kong, China. Ucg | Universal Images Group | Getty ImagesAsia-Pacific markets largely rose even as yields of U.S. 10-year Treasury bonds hit levels not seen in over a decade. The benchmark 10-year Treasury note yield hit a high of 4.34%, reaching its highest level since November 2007. Overnight, SoftBank Group's chip unit Arm filed for a Nasdaq listing that is expected to be the largest of the year. Futures for Hong Kong's Hang Seng index point to a rebound for the index and stood at 17,680,compared with the HSI's close of 17,623.29.

Persons: Kospi Organizations: ICC International Commerce Centre, Ucg, Getty, Nikkei, Nasdaq Locations: Victoria, Hong Kong, China, Asia, Pacific

The timing of the listing was still unclear as money-losing PayPay needs to first demonstrate a clear path to profitability, the source said. SoftBank has previously set a PayPay listing as a goal, with one executive saying in November it was worth just under 1 trillion yen ($7.17 billion). Representatives for PayPay and SoftBank Group's (9984.T) domestic telecoms business, SoftBank Corp (9434.T), said they would not comment on speculation. PayPay is owned by SoftBank Corp, its internet business, Z Holdings (4689.T), and the group's second Vision Fund. PayPay booked a loss before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation of 11.9 billion yen in the year ended March, compared to a loss of 43.2 billion yen a year earlier.

Persons: SoftBank, SoftBank Group's, Kirk Boodry, Son, PayPay, Sam Nussey, Miho Uranaka, Scott Murdoch, David Dolan, Muralikumar Organizations: Companies, Z Holdings, PayPay, SoftBank Corp, Vision Fund, SoftBank, Syla Technologies, Rakuten Bank, SBI Sumishin, Bank, Astris Advisory, Mobile Marketing, Cambridge, Thomson Locations: . New York, Tokyo, New York, U.S, Astris Advisory Japan, Japan, England

☆ SoftBank's Son says he is 'heavy user' of ChatGPT
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-20 | by ( Sam Nussey | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

TOKYO, June 20 (Reuters) - SoftBank Group's (9984.T) Chief Executive Masayoshi Son said on Tuesday he is a "heavy user" of ChatGPT, the artificial intelligence-powered chatbot from Microsoft (MSFT.O) backed startup OpenAI. "I am chatting with ChatGPT everyday - I am a heavy user," Son told shareholders of the group's telecoms subsidiary. Son has stepped back from public pronouncements in recent months to focus on the planned listing of chip designer Arm as his technology investment conglomerate books heavy loss due to the sliding value of its portfolio. The group holds its annual general meeting on Wednesday with the market looking for details of Son's investment outlook at a time when excitement over AI is driving capital expenditure around the world. Reporting by Sam Nussey; Editing by Jacqueline Wong and Christopher CushingOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Group's, Masayoshi Son, Son, Sam Altman, Sam Nussey, Jacqueline Wong, Christopher Cushing Organizations: Microsoft, Thomson Locations: TOKYO, Tokyo

☆ Morning Bid: China steals the show before US inflation
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A look at the day ahead in European and global markets from Sonali DesaiThe People's Bank of China (PBOC) managed to liven up the wait for Tuesday's highly anticipated U.S. consumer price inflation (CPI) data by lowering a short-term lending rate for the first time in 10 months. Several analysts had been expecting a cut to the one-year medium-term lending facility rate on Thursday, when the PBOC is widely expected to roll over maturing loans. The move had little broader impact on markets in the run-up to tonight's U.S. CPI release and this week's major central bank decisions. Europe's calendar highlights include UK employment data, Germany's ZEW survey for June and final May inflation data, and Bank of (BoE) Governor Andrew Bailey's parliamentary testimony. In the U.S., CPI data is likely to dominate market interest and factor into the Federal Open Market Committee's (FOMC) deliberations as it begins a two-day meeting.

Persons: Sonali Desai, Tuesday's, SoftBank Group's, BoE, Andrew Bailey's, BoE policymaker Catherine Mann, Bailey, CPI BoE Governor Bailey, ECB's Pablo Hernandez de Cos, Andrea Enria, FOMC, Christopher Cushing Organizations: People's Bank of China, U.S, CPI, U.S ., Intel, Reuters, Bank of, bps, Federal, Reuters Graphics Reuters, Economic, Thomson Locations: Asia, U.S . Federal, U.S

☆ SoftBank is paying for Son’s past exuberance
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Feb 7 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Warren Buffett once advised investors to be fearful when others are greedy and greedy when others are fearful. In other words, Son and his dealmakers spent big when valuations were unsustainably high and then retreated as prices slumped. SoftBank’s family of startup-investing vehicles, including the two Vision Funds and a Latin America-focused one, have clocked up $6.6 billion of cumulative losses on their investments since 2017. In other words, Son is out of ammunition just when it would be the most useful. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

☆ New CEO says FTX had 'complete failure of corporate control'
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Nov 17 (Reuters) - New FTX CEO John Ray said there was flawed regulatory oversight and a lack of corporate control of the bankrupt crypto exchange founded by Sam Bankman-Fried in a U.S. court filing on Thursday. "Never in my career have I seen such a complete failure of corporate controls and such a complete absence of trustworthy financial information as occurred here," Ray said in the filing, which was lodged with the District of Delaware bankruptcy court. Bankruptcy specialist Ray, who took over from Bankman-Fried as CEO when FTX filed for protection on Friday, did not name any specific overseas regulator in that part of the 30-page filing. FTX founder Bankman-Fried did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the allegations contained in the filing. Vox on Wednesday published an interview with Bankman-Fried in which he said he regretted his decision to file for bankruptcy protection and criticized regulators.

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