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☆ Indian stocks have worst day in 4 years as Modi’s hopes of a huge majority fade
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-04 | by ( Diksha Madhok | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

New Delhi CNN —Indian stocks plunged Tuesday as vote counting in the country’s election suggested Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s dream of a landslide victory is at risk, raising doubts about his ability to push through more aggressive economic reforms. India’s benchmark Sensex index, which tracks 30 large companies, and the broader Nifty 50 index each closed down by nearly 6%. The worst daily drop for Indian stocks since 2020 came just 24 hours after both indexes hit record highs as weekend exit polls prompted experts to predict a resounding victory for Modi. The 73-year-old ran on his economic record over the past 10 years, a period of robust growth for India. But investors have complained about the high price of Indian stocks and some analysts believe a correction could be healthy for markets.

Persons: Narendra Modi’s, Modi, India’s, ”, Yashovardhan Khemka, Manish Jain Organizations: New, New Delhi CNN, Bharatiya Janata Party, BJP, Research, Analytics, Abans Holdings, National Stock Exchange of India, Shenzhen Stock Exchange, Hong Kong Exchange, bourse, World Federation of Exchanges, Mirae Locations: New Delhi, India, Mumbai, United States, China

A bitcoin is seen in an illustration picture taken at La Maison du Bitcoin in Paris, France, June 23, 2017. It's a bit old hat, say a cohort of crypto investors who are betting on blockchain technology breathing new life into traditional assets. Others like Franklin Templeton, UBS Asset Management and ABN Amro (ABNd.AS) have launched tokenized versions of assets such as money market funds and green bonds. Indeed, the actual issuance and value of tokenized traditional assets remains small. Some market players now see significant advances.

Persons: Benoit Tessier, Franklin Templeton, Colin Butler, tokenization, hasn't, Morgan Krupetsky, Doug Schwenk, Lisa Mattackal, Medha Singh, Tom Wilson, Pravin Organizations: La Maison du, REUTERS, London Stock Exchange, Mirae, Securities, UBS Asset Management, ABN Amro, Polygon Labs, Reuters Graphics, Northern Trust, HSBC, Ava Labs, Digital Asset Research, Thomson, Reuters Locations: La, Paris, France, U.S, blockchain, Bengaluru

Executive Producer Reese Witherspoon attends a premiere for the television series "The Last Thing He Told Me" in Los Angeles, U.S, April 13, 2023. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni Acquire Licensing RightsTORONTO, Sept 7 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Reese Witherspoon is putting her star power – and business acumen – to the takeover test again. Private equity firm Consortium Brand Partners said on Wednesday it had bought 70% of Witherspoon’s “steeped in Southern charm” apparel company for an undisclosed sum. For all the attention A-listers now command in deal-making, however, the financial stars often don’t align. Follow @sharonlam_ on XCONTEXT NEWSPrivate equity firm Consortium Brand Partners said on Sept. 6 that it had acquired a 70% stake in Draper James, the fashion and lifestyle brand started by Hollywood actor Reese Witherspoon.

Persons: Reese Witherspoon, Mario Anzuoni, –, Blackstone, Draper James, George Clooney’s, Dre’s, Kylie Jenner, Kim Kardashian, Jessica Simpson, Jessica Alba, ”, Jeffrey Goldfarb, Aditya Sriwatsav Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Reuters, Sunshine, Brand Partners, Diageo, Apple, Bloomberg, Honest Company, Jay, Hollywood, Thomson Locations: Los Angeles, U.S, North America, Coty, Delaware, Draper

☆ South Korea's Doosan Robotics opens books for $318 mln IPO
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SEOUL, Aug 28 (Reuters) - South Korea's Doosan Robotics Inc has opened the books on an up to $318 million initial public offering, according to a company filing. Through the IPO, the company is seeking to raise up to 421.2 billion won ($318.3 million), with its market capitalisation expected to be up to 1.69 trillion won. The international bookbuilding will run from Aug. 28 to Sept. 15, while the domestic book will be open Sept. 11-15, Doosan Robotics' regulatory filing said. The company received approval for the IPO from the Korean bourse earlier this month. ($1 = 1,323.2200 won)Reporting by Ju-min Park; Editing by Stephen CoatesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: 1,323.2200, Stephen Coates Organizations: Korea's Doosan Robotics Inc, Doosan Robotics, underwriters, Korea Investment & Securities, Mirae Asset Securities, bourse, Thomson Locations: SEOUL, Korean

☆ Jeff Bezos' Fiancee Flaunts 'Loud Luxury' Vacation Style
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-22 | by ( Grace Mayer | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Lauren Sanchez, Jeff Bezos' fiancee, has traded in quiet luxury for "loud luxury." Sanchez's vacation style has included vibrant colors, loud patterns, and flashy sequined ensembles. Sanchez and Bezos have been galavanting across Europe this summer aboard the Amazon founder's $500 million megayacht, and Sanchez has packed a variety of 'loud luxury' pieces. Instead of donning neutral color palettes and label-less attire, two crucial components of quiet luxury dressing, Sanchez's summer Yacht style has included an array of colorful and flashy ensembles that broadcast brand names. Another white dress she wore in Spain was entirely encrusted in pearls, writes the Daily Mail.

Persons: Lauren Sanchez, Jeff Bezos, Sanchez, Pucci, Piana, Kendall, Louis Vuitton, logoed Chanel, Daniela Gregis, Mimi Liberté Organizations: Service, Daily Mail, Daily, GQ, Wall Street Locations: Europe, Wall, Silicon, Saint, Portofino, Ibiza, Spain

☆ AI startup Cohere raises $270 mln in Nvidia-backed funding round
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

June 8 (Reuters) - Cohere, an AI foundation model company that competes with Microsoft-backed OpenAI, said on Thursday it had raised $270 million in a funding round backed by Nvidia (NVDA.O), Oracle (ORCL.N) and Salesforce Ventures, among others. Generative AI aims to make human-like creations through computer code that has processed vast amounts of data. Cohere did not reveal its valuation after the latest funding round. AI startups are a bright spot in an otherwise subdued market for venture capital funding, particularly for technology companies, amid rising interest rates and increased investor focus on profitability. Last month, Anthropic, another AI startup which has received backing from Alphabet Inc's (GOOGL.O) Google, also raised $450 million in a new round.

Persons: Cohere, Aidan Gomez, Manya Saini, Shounak Dasgupta Organizations: Microsoft, Nvidia, Oracle, Salesforce Ventures, Inovia Capital, Schroders, Thomvest Ventures, ChatGPT, Google, Thomson Locations: Bengaluru

☆ Nvidia invests in Google-linked generative A.I. startup Cohere
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-08 | by ( Natalie Rose Goldberg | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Cohere, an enterprise-focused generative artificial intelligence startup, has raised $270 million in a Series C round of venture capital which includes AI giant Nvidia as an investor. In the new Cohere round, Oracle and Salesforce were also investors. Cohere is one of the companies that the new Salesforce Ventures generative AI fund is investing in. "We want to build that toolkit that's accessible to any dev," co-founder and CEO Aidan Gomez told CNBC in June 2022. Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang expressed confidence in Cohere, saying in a press release announcing the funding, "The team at Cohere has made foundational contributions to generative AI.

Persons: OpenAI, Cohere, Aidan Gomez, Gomez, Nick Frosst, Jensen Huang, DTCP Organizations: Nvidia, Oracle, Microsoft, CNBC, Google, Google Research, Inovia Capital, Schroders, Thomvest Ventures, Ventures Locations: CoreWeave, Cohere

☆ Samsung faces weakest quarter since 2009 as memory chip market in 'worst slump in decades'
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( Arjun Kharpal | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

A lack of demand and a chip glut has put pressure on memory prices which could hammer Samsung's profit. Samsung is the world's largest maker of memory chips, which go into everything from PCs to servers in data centers. But buyers are now cutting back on purchases of these goods due to inflation and macroeconomic concerns, leading to somewhat of a memory chip glut. Analysts at Mirae Asset Securities estimate that Samsung's chip division will post a 4.4 trillion Korean won loss in the first quarter. "Memory chip losses are expected to persist in the coming quarters as inventories remain at all-time highs, putting further downward pressure on chip prices," CrispIdea analysts said.

The short-lived fight nonetheless underscores the lengths at which scrappy restaurant operators will go to chase consumer dollars. For restaurants that have been open longer than 13 months, Chipotle’s sales grew faster than Sweetgreen’s in the fourth quarter. Sweetgreen billed itself as a tech innovator when it first went public and acquired robotic-kitchen company Spyce back in 2021. Follow on @sharonlam_ TwitterCONTEXT NEWSChipotle Mexican Grill sued rival U.S. take-out chain Sweetgreen for violating its trademarks rights in a similarly branded burrito bowl on April 4, leading to a prompt settlement. Chipotle had argued that Sweetgreen’s “Chipotle Chicken Burrito Bowl” violated its trademark rights.

The short-lived fight nonetheless underscores the lengths at which scrappy restaurant operators will go to chase consumer dollars. For restaurants that have been open longer than 13 months, Chipotle’s sales grew faster than Sweetgreen’s in the fourth quarter. That could explain why Chipotle’s valuation, at nearly 5 times forward sales, is more than double that of Sweetgreen’s. Follow on @sharonlam_ TwitterCONTEXT NEWSChipotle Mexican Grill sued rival U.S. take-out chain Sweetgreen for violating its trademarks rights in a similarly branded burrito bowl on April 4, leading to a prompt settlement. Chipotle had argued that Sweetgreen’s “Chipotle Chicken Burrito Bowl” violated its trademark rights.

[1/2] Microsoft Corp's Bing search engine is seen on a computer in this illustration picture taken January 24, 2019. While Bing AI has been available to most users around the world since February, Google began the public release of its chatbot Bard only on Tuesday. "Bing has less than a tenth of Google's market share, so even if it converts 1% or 2% of users it will be materially beneficial to Bing and Microsoft," Luria said. App downloads for Bing have also jumped eight times globally after AI integration, according to app research firm Data.ai. Downloads for the Google search app fell 2% in the same period, the data showed.

☆ India tech minister plans to meet startups on SVB fallout
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

"Start-ups are an important part of the new India economy. I will meet with Indian Startups this week to understand impact on them and how the government can help during the crisis," Rajeev Chandrasekhar, the state minister for IT said on Twitter. "Spoke to some founders and it is very bad," Ashish Dave, CEO of Mirae Asset Venture Investments (India), wrote in a tweet. "Especially for Indian founders ... who setup their U.S. companies and raised their initial round, SVB is default bank. Software firm Freshworks (FRSH.O) said it has minimal exposure to the SVB situation relative to the company's overall balance sheet.

☆ India tech minister says to meet startups on SVB fallout
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MUMBAI, March 12 (Reuters) - India's state minister for technology said on Sunday he will meet start-ups this week to asses the impact on them of Silicon Valley Bank's (SIVB.O) collapse, as concerns rise about the fallout for the Indian start-up sector. "Start-ups are an important part of the new India economy. I will meet with Indian Startups this week to understand impact on them and how the government can help during the crisis," Rajeev Chandrasekhar, the state minister for IT said on Twitter. "Spoke to some founders and it is very bad," Ashish Dave, CEO of Mirae Asset Venture Investments (India), wrote in a tweet. "Especially for Indian founders ... who setup their U.S. companies and raised their initial round, SVB is default bank.

TORONTO, Dec 28 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Like dogs seeking forever homes, stray pet businesses will find new owners in 2023. After a surge in Covid-19 lockdown adoptions, some seven out of 10 U.S. households owned one, according to a recent survey by The American Pet Products Association. Nestlé (NESN.S) boss Mark Schneider, for one, said he is open to opportunities in pet food, while Colgate-Palmolive (CL.N) recently bought additional manufacturing facilities to beef up its Hill’s Pet Nutrition division. Privately held Mars, which acquired Canada-based Champion Petfoods and Nom Nom, also could be on the hunt. Separately, Mars also agreed to acquire pet food brand Nom Nom for an undisclosed price, Bloomberg reported on Jan. 14.

☆ Mirae Asset Group to invest $72 mln in Space X in January 2023
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Pacific Equity Partners has pulled the plug on a deal to acquire Australia's ReadyTech Holdings , just a day after the private-equity firm withdrew its offer for the tech company to work on a new one. undefined ago

☆ North Korea Wants Dollars. It’s a Sign of Trouble.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( Choe Sang-Hun | Pablo Robles | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +18 min

Media Korean Studies 2016 2008 New Finished New buildings Repainted TAEDONG RIVER TAEDONG RIVER Pyongyang in 2008. Media Korean Studies 2008 2016 New Finished New buildings Repainted TAEDONG RIVER TAEDONG RIVER Pyongyang in 2008. Under Mr. Kim, North Korea has opened a new terminal at the city’s international airport, renovated subway stations and opened new amusement parks. Missile tests this year alone cost North Korea hundreds of millions of dollars, according to estimates by South Korean and American researchers. An array of cell phones, assembled in North Korea with components imported from China, is on sale and advertised on state TV.

TORONTO, Nov 11 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Some members of the shared economy are seeing a resurgence in the side hustle as inflation bites. People are becoming more interested in driving for Uber Technologies (UBER.N) and listing their abodes on Airbnb (ABNB.O) in order to make an extra buck. U.S. President Joe Biden last month proposed a new gig worker rule that could fundamentally change how companies classify their workers. But the shared economy seems to be holding up fine, even if the economy isn’t. Uber Technologies on Nov. 1 said revenue grew 72% year-on-year to $8.3 billion in the third quarter.

TORONTO, Nov 9 (Reuters Breakingviews) - The U.S. cannabis industry would do well to heed the lessons of Canada’s growing pains. Even as the United States becomes more pot-friendly, however, there’s no guarantee that financial success will follow. Approved cannabis growers destroyed a record quantity of unsold buds last year, the Financial Post reported. Fewer available licenses in the United States also mean barriers to entry are higher. The Canadian government on Sept. 22 announced the launch of the legislative review of the Cannabis Act, which came into force on Oct. 17, 2018.

☆ Chinese automaker Geely's new energy brand Farizon raises over $300 mln
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BEIJING/HONG KONG, Oct 26 (Reuters) - Chinese automaker Geely's new energy vehicle subsidiary on Wednesday said its brand Farizon has raised over $300 million from a funding round led by Asian logistics firm Global Logistics Properties' (GLP) investment arm Hidden Hill Capital. The new capital raise, which involves other investors such as Chinese logistics and chemical group Transfar and an investment firm backed by major Chinese investment bank CITIC Securities, came as Geely stepped up its new energy vehicle development. Hangzhou-based Geely Holding Group, owner of Zhejiang Geely New Energy Commercial Vehicle Group which sells Farizon, is known globally with its investments in Volvo Cars and Mercedes-Benz. Farizon will use much of the funding "for research & development and ecosystem development, in order to further consolidate its market-leading position in new energy commercial vehicles," Zhejiang Geely New Energy Commercial Vehicle Group said in a statement. Geely New Energy Commercial Vehicle did not disclose Farizon's valuation in the statement.

☆ Mirae Asset in talks to help fund Elon Musk's Twitter deal - source
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-24 | by ( Hyunjoo Jin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SAN FRANCISCO, Oct 24 (Reuters) - South Korea's Mirae Asset Financial Group is planning to commit about 300 billion Korean won ($208 million) to help finance Elon Musk's $44-billion buyout of Twitter Inc (TWTR.N), a person familiar with the matter told Reuters on Monday. The deal with Mirae is expected to be finalized in the coming days before the deadline for the closing of the Twitter deal on Oct. 28, the source added. Mirae Asset earlier this year invested in Musk's rocket and satellite company SpaceX, the person said. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterMusk's lawyer and Mirae Asset were not immediately available for comments. Tesla investors have feared the billionaire might sell more Tesla stocks to finance the deal, weighing on its shares.

☆ Why the oil trade may have more juice despite a losing week
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-15 | by ( Noah Sheidlower | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Even though WTI crude just saw its worst week in more than two months, the oil trade may have more juice left in the tank. Mirae Asset Securities' Chris Hempstead told CNBC's "ETF Edge" that he sees the Russia-Ukraine war fallout and OPEC+ oil cuts as key bullish catalysts for oil. Hempstead added that demand for oil and gas will increase when China — the world's second-biggest consumer of oil — exits its Covid-19 lockdowns. Jan van Eck, CEO of global investment manager VanEck, shares that bullish outlook. "No one wants nuclear, no one wants solar panels [and] no one wants windmills, but we need it to do this energy transformation," van Eck said.

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