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☆ Slovak Parliament Chief Confirms Presidential Bid, Facing Ex-Foreign Minister
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-19 | by ( Jan. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

By Jason Hovet(Reuters) - Slovak parliament chief Peter Pellegrini, leader of the second-biggest party in the government coalition, confirmed on Friday that he would run in a March presidential election. Pellegrini, a prime minister in 2018-2020 and former member of Fico's SMER party, has seen a shrinking poll lead against his closest contender - Ivan Korcok, who was foreign minister in a previous government led by opposition forces. A second round in the likely case that no candidate wins an outright majority is on April 6. Pellegrini leads Korcok 40.6% to 37.7% in an AKO agency poll released on Thursday. Pellegrini led the government until anti-corruption parties won a 2020 election.

Persons: Jason Hovet, Peter Pellegrini, Robert Fico, Pellegrini, Fico's, Ivan Korcok, Zuzana Caputova, Korcok, Fico, Hugh Lawson Organizations: European Union Locations: Korcok, AKO, Prague

☆ China's LandSpace readies satellite launch with methane rocket
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BEIJING, Dec 4 (Reuters) - Beijing-based LandSpace Technology, one of China's private space companies, is preparing to launch a satellite payload to orbit in the first commercial test of its rocket powered by liquid fuel using methane and oxygen. The company did not specify a launch window for the rocket, which will blast off from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Inner Mongolia. The company had fundraising rounds of undisclosed sizes since, Chinese company record tracking database Tianyancha showed. LandSpace rival OrienSpace, founded in 2020, said it plans to launch its first rocket, Gravity-1, based on solid fuel, in December. ($1 = 7.1368 Chinese yuan renminbi)Reporting by Ella Cao, Roxanne Liu and Bernard Orr; Editing by Kevin Krolicki and Miral FahmyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: LandSpace's, LandSpace, Elon Musk's, Jeff Bezos, Zhang Changwu, OrienSpace, Ella Cao, Roxanne Liu, Bernard Orr, Kevin Krolicki Organizations: Technology, Weibo, Jiuquan, Elon, Elon Musk's SpaceX, SpaceX, Sequoia Capital, China SME Development Fund, LandSpace's, Thomson Locations: BEIJING, Beijing, Inner Mongolia, China, U.S, HongShan, Sequoia Capital China

☆ Sending money both at home and abroad can have its challenges. New innovations are tackling those problems.
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-30 | by ( Sponsor Post | Created Insider Studios With Mastercard | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Almost half — 47% — of SMEs who have experienced problems with international payments say they have become less confident about sending money across borders and as a result send fewer payments overseas. "The market expectation is that the user experience for domestic payments can be replicated with cross-border payments. However, cross-border payments still face a lot of challenges. "Against this backdrop, it's never been more crucial for cross-border payments to arrive safely. The G20 Roadmap for Enhancing Cross-Border Payments aims to make such transactions "cheaper, faster, more transparent, and more accessible" by 2027.

Persons: Rasika Raina, Mastercard's, Raina, it's Organizations: Mastercard, Research, Insider Studios

☆ Slovakia's New PM Fico Stops Talking to Some Media Amid Rift
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-20 | by ( Nov. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

(Reuters) - Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico stopped communication with four leading domestic news outlets on Monday after accusing them of failing to provide truthful information, widening a rift with some independent media groups. Fico became prime minister for a fourth time last month at the head of a leftist-nationalist coalition after an election in which he attacked liberal policies, Slovakia's Western allies and media that is critical of him and his SMER party. "As long as the cited media outlets do not begin to fulfil their legal obligations, Prime Minister R. Fico is interrupting any communication with them," the government office said in an emailed statement. While he had not barred journalists, halting communication contravened laws ensuring that media are kept informed by the authorities, he added. Pavol Szalai of Reporters Without Borders said Fico was subjecting Slovakia's democracy to a "crash test".

Persons: Robert Fico, Fico, Jan Kuciak, Kuciak, R, Dennik, Matus Kostolny, Kostolny, Beata Balogova, Jason Hovet, Gareth Jones Organizations: Reuters, Slovak, TV, Facebook, Borders, Government

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsJAKARTA, Nov 13 (Reuters) - TikTok has been holding talks with Indonesian e-commerce companies about possible partnerships, an Indonesian minister said on Monday, a month after Southeast Asia's largest economy banned online shopping on social media platforms. "Some e-commerce companies in Indonesia have talked to TikTok," he said in an interview, citing what the companies' executives told him. It was a particular blow to TikTok, which was forced to close its e-commerce service TikTok Shop. A TikTok Indonesia spokesperson was not available to comment. Until it stopped operations, TikTok Shop was delivering about 3 million parcels a day in Indonesia, sources have said.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Teten Masduki, TikTok, Tokopedia, Bukalapak, Blibli, Joko Widodo, Shou Zi Chew, Teten, Indonesia's, SEA's, Stanley Widianto, Ananda Teresia, Edwina Gibbs Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Indonesian, GoTo's, TikTok, YouTube, Meta, Google, Temasek Holdings, Bain & Co, HK, Lazada, Thomson Locations: Rights JAKARTA, Indonesian, Indonesia, Southeast, Singapore

☆ Britain to invest 300 million pounds in AI supercomputing
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak delivers a speech on AI at Royal Society, Carlton House Terrace on October 26, 2023 in London, England. Funding for the "AI Research Resource" will be increased to 300 million pounds ($363.57 million) from a previously announced 100 million pounds, the government said at an AI safety summit aimed at charting a safe way forward for the rapidly evolving technology. "Frontier AI models are becoming exponentially more powerful," British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said on social media platform X. "This investment will make sure Britain’s scientific talent have the tools they need to make the most advanced models of AI safe." The machines, which will be running from summer next year, will be used to analyse advanced AI models to test safety features, as well as to drive breakthroughs in drug discovery and clean energy, the government said.

Persons: Rishi Sunak, Peter Nicholls, Bristol's, Kylie MacLellan, Kirsten Donovan Organizations: British, Royal Society, Carlton, Terrace, REUTERS, Nvidia, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Dell, SME, Thomson Locations: London, England, Britain, Cambridge, Bristol

☆ A big climate change stress test is coming for Amazon sellers and suppliers
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-14 | by ( Laura Petrecca | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

"The pressure is coming at companies, who are then putting pressure on suppliers," said Bob Willard, a corporate consultant and author of six books on sustainability. AstraZeneca suppliers are expected to annually report emissions data to the CDP and set science-based goals. "Tracking emissions data is no easy feat," says Karen Kerrigan, president and CEO of the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council. Small businesses already under economic stressAmid ongoing fears of recession, higher interest rates cutting into sources of capital, signs of weaker consumer demand, and labor market challenges, small businesses have focused more on employees and their bottom line than sustainability. The report found, as previous climate accounting has typically shown, that the majority of emissions come from suppliers.

Persons: Bob Willard, Andrew Winston, Winston, Karen Kerrigan, Chaitali Patel, Patel, Russell Organizations: Amazon, Microsoft, Walmart, Apple, AstraZeneca, Intuit QuickBooks, Small Business, Entrepreneurship Council, Greenhouse, CNBC, SurveyMonkey, Survey, New York Times

☆ Analysis-More SE Asia firms consider U.S. IPOs, filling void left by China peers
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-18 | by ( Yantoultra Ngui | Scott Murdoch | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

“These factors have enabled some of their ASEAN rivals to step out into the spotlight.”ASEAN, the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations, includes Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia and Vietnam. For investors seeking emerging market exposure, Southeast Asia fits the bill, because of the region’s strong economic growth and increasing population, analysts say. Some Southeast Asia companies seeking listings in the U.S. look to raise between $300 million and $1 billion, with valuations ranging from $1.5 billion to $8 billion, bankers said, without naming any firms. “International investors are seeing the value of portfolio diversification that Southeast Asia provides,” Tay added. The expected pickup in Southeast Asian listings, however, could get derailed by share volatility and stringent investor scrutiny, analysts say.

Persons: ”, Leif Schneider, Sunil Khaitan, Kelvin Teo, Andrew Lim, Tay Hwee Ling, ” Tay, Anuruk Karoonyavanich Organizations: Nasdaq, REUTERS, Gushcloud International, Sunday, Reuters, VNG Corp, ASEAN, Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Carsome, Southeast, Bank, America’s, “, U.S ., ’, Companies, Deloitte, “ International, DBS Locations: SINGAPORE, SYDNEY, United States, New York City, U.S, Singapore, New York, Philippine, Washington, Beijing, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Asia, Indonesia, Southeast, Southeast Asia, China

ASEAN, the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations, includes Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia and Vietnam. For investors seeking emerging market exposure, Southeast Asia fits the bill, because of the region's strong economic growth and increasing population, analysts say. Some Southeast Asia companies seeking listings in the U.S. look to raise between $300 million and $1 billion, with valuations ranging from $1.5 billion to $8 billion, bankers said, without naming any firms. "International investors are seeing the value of portfolio diversification that Southeast Asia provides," Tay added. The expected pickup in Southeast Asian listings, however, could get derailed by share volatility and stringent investor scrutiny, analysts say.

Persons: DoubleDragon, Leif Schneider, Sunil Khaitan, Kelvin Teo, Andrew Lim, Tay Hwee Ling, Tay, Anuruk Karoonyavanich, Yantoultra Ngui, Scott Murdoch, Sumeet Chatterjee, Miral Organizations: Nasdaq, REUTERS, U.S, IPOs, Gushcloud International, Sunday, Reuters, VNG Corp, ASEAN, Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Carsome, Southeast, Bank, America's, U.S ., Deloitte, International, DBS, Thomson Locations: New York City, U.S, Asia, SINGAPORE, SYDNEY, United States, Singapore, New York, Philippine, Washington, Beijing, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Southeast, Southeast Asia, China, Sydney

☆ Goldman Sachs-backed digital bank Starling to expand in hotly competitive Asia-Pacific market
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-11 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

British digital bank Starling is planning its first expansion outside of Europe, targeting a move into Asia-Pacific, CNBC has learned. However, Drewett said the bank Starling is partnering would use the company's software to launch small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) accounts, rather than to provide personal banking services. "It's a different proof point for us: one in Europe, one in Asia-Pacific," Drewett told CNBC in an interview Thursday. Engine is a technology platform that Starling launched in March 2022 and licenses out to other financial technology firms and large banks. Starling is using its Engine core banking platform as a launchpad for international expansion.

Persons: Goldman Sachs, Nick Drewett, Starling, Drewett, Anne Boden, Boden, Statista Organizations: CNBC, Qatar Investment Partners, Fidelity Management, Research Company Locations: Europe, Asia, Pacific, Irish, U.K, Qatar

☆ Wall Street says buy the dip on India's Nifty 50 — and Morgan Stanley names its favorite stock
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-10 | by ( Ganesh Rao | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Bank of America has revealed its year-end price target for India's Nifty index, forecasting that it will reach 20,500 points by December 2023. The Nifty 50 benchmark index is composed of the market capitalization-weighted average of 50 of the largest Indian companies. The Wall Street bank's price target points towards a 4.5% upside from its current level of 19,625. Bank of America (BofA) said the change in outlook from its U.S. economics team was a key driver behind this prediction. The Wall Street bank said the Indian lender's asset quality remains robust and margins have experienced only minor declines despite higher funding costs.

Persons: Shah, Udit, Nifty's, Patrick Harker, Morgan Stanley's, Morgan Stanley, Sumeet Kariwala, Michael Bloom Organizations: of America, Bank of America, Federal Reserve, Philadelphia Federal, ICICI Bank, New York Stock Exchange Locations: United States, U.S, China

☆ Here's exactly how much I made at Google, Snap, and Cisco in non-technical roles
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-01 | by ( Aria Yang | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Jonathan Javier is a former product operations analyst at Google, Snap, and Cisco. I graduated from UC Riverside and always wanted to work in the tech industry in non-tech roles focusing on strategy, sales operations, and advisory. Cisco: Go-to-market strategy and operations analyst$90,000 base salary + $10K bonus + $20K stock optionsI left Google for Cisco for two main reasons. You need to build your network early on to land your dream jobBuilding your network early on makes a big difference in job hunting. That's why it pays off to build the network early on.

Persons: Jonathan Javier, Jonathan, Snapchat, It's, Aria Yang Organizations: Google, Cisco, UC Riverside, LinkedIn, Meta, Network Locations: Snapchat

☆ American Express is being investigated over sales practices. Salespeople say they have been made scapegoats.
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-06 | by ( Dakin Campbell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +25 min

In late May last year, some 250 salespeople at American Express learned they weren't going to get paid. In addition to earning commissions, the Premium Wire volumes helped them reach higher compensation tiers, known as kickers. For the first time, the Premium Wire product made economic sense. The presentation discussed shifting the sales focus toward Premium Wire and another product to "accelerate revenue growth and meet client's needs." Isserlis said Williams was fired because of misconduct unrelated to Premium Wire.

Persons: Amex, salespeople, Salespeople, Adam Isserlis, Isserlis, Stephen Squeri, John Moore, Amex salespeople, Pablo Ribas, Ribas, Anna Marrs, Marrs, Charles Schwab, Schwab, Mike Peterson, Charlene Luke, they'd, Nick Williams, Williams, Nick, Mr, —, Thomas Zoerner, Zoerner, Amex's, she's, weren't, Carter Johnson Organizations: American Express, Commercial Services, Securities and Exchange Commission, Justice Department, Internal Revenue Service, Street, IRS, Getty, Credit, Employees, Business, SME, Global Commercial Services, Marriott, Express, University of Florida's Levin College of Law, Amex, California Labor, Court, whistleblowing Locations: Brooklyn, California, Manhattan, Canadian, —, Orange County , California, New York, Webex

☆ Trezy, a fintech that uses AI to help small businesses manage cash flow, just raised $3.3 million with this 23-slide pitch deck
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-15 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Trezy, a fintech startup that helps small businesses manage cash flow, has raised $3.3 million. Trezy, a fintech startup that uses AI to help small businesses manage cash flow, has raised $3.3 million. Trezy also automatically identifies and categorizes payments while also tracking cash position in real-time as well as monitoring unpaid invoices. In effect, Trezy's offering is designed to remedy the often opaque world of accounting and financial planning for small business owners. The startup has raised $3.3 million in seed funding in a round led by Seedcamp and Playfair Capital, with participation from Kima Ventures.

Persons: Trezy, Quentin Lacointa, Seedcamp, Lacointa Organizations: Playfair, Kima Ventures, SME Locations: Seedcamp, Paris, Amsterdam, Netherlands

So what's hot in fintech right now? One area fintech companies are getting excited by is an improvement to online checkout tools. Callan Carvey, global head of operations at Cleo, said the firm's AI connects to a customer's bank account to get a better understanding of their financial behavior. "A job that typically would take around one or two weeks can now be completed in 30 minutes, right. Several fintech executives CNBC interviewed spoke of how they're not interested in launching products tailored to crypto as the demand from their customers isn't there.

Persons: MacKenzie Sigalos, hasn't, they've, Starling, Richard Davies, Davies, Niklas Guske, —, B2C fintechs, David Singleton, Guske, dazzled, Cleo, Callan Carvey, Carvey, Teo Blidarus, Taktile's, Hiroki Takeuchi, Takeuchi, Changpeng Zhao, they're, Jack Zhang, Zhang, Prajit Nanu, cryptocurrencies, Banks, Nanu Organizations: Bank, fintechs, CNBC, Business, Allica Bank, B2B, Tiger, Schroders Capital, Atom Bank, Schroders, U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, SEC, U.S, cryptocurrencies Locations: Amsterdam, MacKenzie Sigalos AMSTERDAM, Netherlands, British, Atomico, U.S

"With loan terms tougher and tighter, the option for private credit providers is on steroids," said Drew Schardt, head of investment strategy at Hamilton Lane, one of the largest investment firms in private markets. Pietrzak sees "attractive" assets in auto and consumer lending. POISED TO GAIN SHAREInvestors providing private credit comprise 12% of the $6.3 trillion U.S. commercial credit market, according to Fitch Ratings. "The tightening of lending standards creates opportunities for private credit to gain share," said Lyle Margolis, Fitch's head of private credit. While private credit funds have grown swiftly, the risks they pose to the financial system appear limited, the Federal Reserve wrote in a report this month.

The hedge funds said they can share ideas, but cannot reveal their trading positions for regulatory reasons. Reddy said he preferred senior unsecured bank debt, that allowed bondholders payment ahead of some other creditors in the event of an insolvency. Taking bearish positions on banks that lend to smaller and medium sized firms could prove opportunistic if the economy weakens, he added. Trend-wise the Japanese yen should continue to weaken," said Chua, noting that central banks in Asia have slowed or paused rate hikes. Insurers, which holds commercial mortgage-backed securities and property, will likely feel pressures on CRE, he said.

☆ This startup that automates SME invoices with AI just raised $8 million. Check out the 10-slide pitch deck Triver used to raise the fresh funds.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

The startup was founded by former Funding Circle executive Jerome Le Luel and is backed by Stride.vc. A London-based startup that will provide instant working capital to SMEs has emerged from stealth with an $8 million funding round. Like most forms of short-term working capital, financing solutions for the SME market are often expensive and time-consuming. Most providers run checks based on e-commerce data, but Le Luel believes that Open Banking data allows for better risk and analytics modeling. The company wants to launch its platform within this quarter and said that it had a "line-of-sight" to a very profitable business by 2027.

☆ Britain's banks urge Bank of England to keep small company capital rule
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( Huw Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, April 3 (Reuters) - Forcing banks to set aside more capital in case loans to small and medium-sized companies turn sour would hit Britain's economy, banking industry body UK Finance said on Monday. It has proposed ending the preferential capital treatment for loans to small businesses, known as the SME supporting factor. "The SME support factor should not be completely and suddenly removed," UK Finance said in a statement. Britain should bring the floor into line with other countries to avoid a competitive disadvantage, UK Finance said. The BoE plans a simpler capital regime for smaller UK lenders, and UK Finance said the central bank should apply it to subsidiaries of foreign lenders operating in Britain as well.

☆ 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.

☆ Profits, guidance up at Ireland's PTSB on NatWest loan deal
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

DUBLIN, March 1 (Reuters) - Ireland's permanent tsb (PTSB) (IL0A.I) posted a jump in annual profit on Wednesday reflecting what it has called its "once-in-a-generation" purchase of loans from rival Ulster Bank. It posted a profit before tax of 267 million euros for 2022 versus a loss of 21 million euros a year earlier. Some 222 million euros of that arose primarily from taking on Ulster's mortgage and SME loan books, it said. Analysts at Davy Stockbrokers said the guidance indicated low- to mid-teen percentage upside to its forecasts and that the pace of European Central Bank interest rate rises could result in further upside. NatWest took a 17% share in PTSB as part of the loans deal, diluting the Irish government's holding to 62%.

☆ Italy working on measures to boost Milan bourse's allure
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-20 | by ( Giuseppe Fonte | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

With an overall capitalisation of around 680 billion euros ($726.3 billion), the value of companies listed on Milan's bourse lags far behind European Union peers. "We aim to present a bill in parliament by April to strengthen Milan's ability to encourage listing," Treasury junior minister Federico Freni told Reuters. To boost initial public offerings (IPOs) in Milan, the draft bill includes measures to simplify the listing process, which current rules companies say make it costly and cumbersome to provide adequate risk disclosure for investors. "SME qualification is currently envisaged when capitalisation does not exceed 500 million euros: such a threshold would be increased to 1 billion euros," the draft showed. This would make only the institution liable while shielding its employees including top executives, a move the Treasury believes could speed up the listing process.

☆ BTG Pactual joins Brazilian lenders hit by post-Americanas provisions
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-13 | by ( Gabriel Araujo | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

SAO PAULO, Feb 13 (Reuters) - Banco BTG Pactual SA (BPAC3.SA) on Monday became the latest Brazilian lender to be affected by bad credit provisions due to what it called a "specific, widely publicized event," likely referring to the bankruptcy of Americanas SA (AMER3.SA). BTG reported a quarterly net profit of 1.64 billion reais ($314.5 million), slightly down from 1.74 billion a year earlier and below the market consensus of 2.27 billion, according to analysts polled by Refinitiv. BTG's "good cost discipline" in the quarter helped reduce the impact of the provisions, JPMorgan said. "Despite all the challenges, we expect higher returns in 2023, with greater operating leverage and possibly even higher capital and liquidity levels," BTG Chief Executive Officer Roberto Sallouti said. ($1 = 5.2151 reais)Reporting by Gabriel Araujo; Editing by David Holmes, Kirsten Donovan and Paul SimaoOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Supernormal, a generative AI startup that automates meeting notes, just raised $10 million. Check out the 17-slide pitch deck it used to bag the seed round.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Supernormal, a startup in the red-hot generative AI sector, just raised $10 million. The startup uses AI to take notes from meetings in real time and sends them instantly afterward. We got an exclusive look at the 17-slide pitch deck Supernormal used to raise the cash. Supernormal, a startup in the red-hot generative AI sector, has raised $10 million in a seed round led by Revolut and Citymapper investor Balderton. The company, which uses AI to automate meeting notes, was founded in 2020 by former Meta and Klarna product manager Colin Treseler and ex-Github design lead Fabian Perez.

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