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☆ Inside a women-only poker night at the New York Stock Exchange: 'If it's worth betting, it's worth raising'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( Hayley Cuccinello | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

BNY Mellon threw a women-only poker night at the NYSE to celebrate International Women's Day. Hours after the markets had closed, I was at the New York Stock Exchange learning how to play poker. This women-only poker night was thrown by Bank of New York Mellon on March 9, the day after International Women's Day. "Aggression is actually a winning strategy," said AJ Rudolph, the director of education and technology at Power Poker, as she walked us through the basics of poker. The Poker Power chips featured Frida Kahlo, Malala Yousafzai, Maya Angelou, and Rosie the Riveter.

☆ European shares sink as banks resume selloff, Credit Suisse hits new low
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Shreyashi Sanyal | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The pan-European STOXX 600 index (.STOXX) fell 2.5% by 1118 GMT, languishing at 10-week lows, as was the banks sector index (.SX7P) after plunging nearly 6%. The bank index is set to lose more than 120 billion euros ($127.26 billion) in market value since the close of March 8. Shares of Credit Suisse (CSGN.S) fell below 2 Swiss francs ($2.18) after the lender's biggest shareholder said it could not raise its 10% stake, citing regulatory issues. There was also a cooling of optimism that the U.S. Federal Reserve will tone down its rate-hiking spree next week in the aftermath of Silicon Valley Bank's (SVB) collapse. Retailers (.SXRP) shed 5.0% after shares of Zara-owner Inditex (ITX.MC), the world's biggest fashion retailer, fell 5.2% as it flagged higher investment spending.

☆ Gen Z shares 5 red flags that could mean an employer doesn't care about work-life balance
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( Alexandra York | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Some Gen Zers fear that asking about work-life balance in interviews could harm their job prospects. Gen Zers shared their warning signs when job hunting, including unclear goals and a "bonus day." Preston Jacobson, a 24-year-old working in retail management, said he left his job in February because it lacked a proper work-life balance. "Instead of just asking folks about the work-life balance, I would ask employees what they do outside of work," he said. Do you have something to share about navigating a work-life balance as a member of Gen Z, as a millennial, or as a part of another generation?

☆ Investors must assess banks' net interest margins in wake of SVB fallout, says investment director
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailInvestors must assess banks' net interest margins in wake of SVB fallout, says investment directorRuss Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, weighs in on the unravelling of Silicon Valley Bank.

☆ Homebuyers, take note: 21 spots across the US where prices may fall
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-11 | by ( Aj Latrace | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Real-estate data firm Attom evaluated which counties across the country are most vulnerable. Attom's researchers looked at a number of key indicators to determine the overall health of a region's real-estate market. Home prices that are out of reach for many locals suggests they are overly elevated. One is that the counties around major cities such as Chicago and New York are particularly vulnerable. Out of the 581 counties Attom analyzed, here's a look at the 21 counties that are most vulnerable to a decline.

The SFDR defines sustainable investment as contributing to "an environmental or social objective", assessed by indicators such as use of raw materials or production of waste. The people Reuters spoke to said discrepancies among fund portfolios reflected a lack of clarity from the Commission over what constitutes a sustainable investment. Reuters GraphicsReuters GraphicsTEMPERATURE GAUGEMSCI, the finance industry data provider, has developed a way of checking on investment funds' green credentials with its ESG Implied Temperature Rise tool. Among them, for example, are BlackRock's Sustainable Energy Fund, Nordea's Global Climate and Environment Fund and Pictet's Global Environmental Opportunities Fund. "The characterisation of what constitutes a sustainable investment under the SFDR is also a concept that needs further clarifications at European level."

☆ The implosion of Silicon Valley's largest bank has investors worried worse is to come: 'There might be some kind of crack in the financial system'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( Hasan Chowdhury | James Dean | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The implosion of the California lenders Silicon Valley Bank and Silvergate has investors worried. Christopher Whalen, the chairman of Whalen Global Advisors, a financial consultancy, said Silicon Valley Bank was "just the tip of the iceberg." He added that the situation at Silicon Valley Bank was "a reminder that many institutions are sitting on large unrealized losses" on bond holdings. Mould said the "fire sale" of Silicon Valley Bank's bond portfolio raised broader concerns. Silicon Valley Bank CEO Greg Becker on Thursday implored customers to "stay calm" in an apparent bid to stave off further mass withdrawals and avert collapse.

SummarySummary Companies Tech bank's troubles panic marketsFears spread over fallout from rising interest ratesBanks vulnerable as bond values dropLONDON, March 10 (Reuters) - For months, investors had shrugged off the threat of rising interest rates. In SVB's case, venture capital clients, unable to raise cash elsewhere, pulled money from the bank, forcing its hasty sale of bonds at a loss. In February, U.S. regulators said U.S. banks had unrealised losses of more than $620 billion on securities, underscoring the scale of the risks. Jason Benowitz, senior portfolio manager at CI Roosevelt, said SVB's risks were not unique with many banks sitting on such unrealised losses because rates have moved so rapidly. "The SVB situation is a reminder that many institutions are sitting on large unrealised losses," said AJ Bell investment research director Russ Mould.

Europe’s benchmark Stoxx Europe 600 index fell 1.5% in early trading, while London’s bank-heavy FTSE 100 (UKX) index slid 1.8%. Meanwhile, Japan’s Nikkei ended Friday down 1.7% as the country’s central bank decided to keep its ultra-low interest rates unchanged. Futures on the benchmark S&P 500 (DVS) index fell 0.43%, while futures on the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (COMP) dropped 0.2%. Wall Street wipeoutThe losses come after US bank stocks logged the largest falls in nearly three years on Thursday. The KBW Bank Index, which tracks 24 leading US banks, fell 7.7%, its biggest drop in almost three years.

☆ A popular tax-avoidance tool that home sellers and real-estate investors have been using for decades is at risk — again
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( Aj Latrace | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The 1031 exchange is a popular tactic that allows home sellers to avoid paying taxes. The strategy allows sellers to postpone paying taxes on any capital gains — or the money they made in addition to their original investment — by using those funds to immediately buy a similar property elsewhere. This isn't the first time that the president has targeted the 1031 exchange. In 2020, Biden's "caring economy" plan sought to close the 1031 exchange to raise funds for other programs, like universal preschool and a childcare tax credit. Biden's previous threats to end the 1031 exchange were met with stiff resistance from the real-estate industry and were never passed.

☆ Starbucks CEO agrees to testify before US Senate panel
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( Kanishka Singh | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, March 7 (Reuters) - Starbucks Corp (SBUX.O) interim Chief Executive Officer Howard Schultz has agreed to testify this month before a U.S. Senate committee, the company and panel chairman Senator Bernie Sanders said on Tuesday. Schultz will testify on March 29 before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee after he had earlier declined an invitation from 11 senators to testify before the panel on March 9. Employees at more than 280 out of its roughly 9,000 company-operated U.S. locations have voted to join a labor union since 2021. Sanders had called on Schultz to testify at a hearing on the company's compliance with labor law. Starbucks had previously noted Schultz was stepping down as CEO this month and said he was not the right witness.

☆ A 27-Year-Old Home Flipper Rehabbed Rundown 3 Homes — See Inside
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( Aj Latrace | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: 1 min

Crenshaw purchased this house in Harker Heights — which neighbors Killeen and is about an hour north of Austin — for $188,000 and sold it for $232,000 after renovations. He said he just broke even on this project. Crenshaw said "the energy was terrible" during his first walkthrough of this house. He cleaned up the landscaping, top, and painted the garage door a dark color, bottom. John Crenshaw

☆ Real-estate investors seized upon a tried-and-true strategy to fix up homes and make money. Then the market turned.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-05 | by ( Aj Latrace | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

One way: buy a home, fix it up to rent out, then refinance to get cash and buy the next one. "We looked at long-term rent and we would have been in the hole a few hundred dollars per month based on interest rates and property taxes," Holland told Insider. But a perfect storm of softening home prices, increasing taxes, higher mortgage rates, and steep building-material costs has made the BRRRR model less attractive to investors. When the BRRRR numbers don't work, Holland said, there are a few strategies investors could consider instead. But even that strategy has its own competitive advantages and disadvantages, she said, such as seasonality and uncertain income.

[1/2] A worker shelters from the rain under a Union Flag umbrella as he passes the London Stock Exchange in London, Britain, October 1, 2008. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File PhotoLONDON, March 3 (Reuters) - London risks losing its appeal for stock market listings, some investors and financial executives said, with sluggish trading and low valuations driving more companies to float elsewhere. That dashed government hopes that Arm, seen as a British tech success story, would return to the London market, where it was listed before being taken over in 2016. Arm's announcement came a day after Dublin-based construction materials company CRH recommended moving its primary listing from London to the United States. But British companies that floated in New York have not necessarily had the smooth ride they expected, data compiled by the London Stock Exchange (LSE) (LSEG.L) suggests.

☆ Companies are latching onto the hot new AI trend. The feds are warning they're watching for false claims.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Grace Kay | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The FTC warned companies to avoid overselling their AI products in a blog post on Monday. It called AI a "hot marketing" term that some companies won't be able to stop themselves from "abusing." The craze has caused an AI arms race between Big Tech companies like Microsoft and Google. News organizations like Buzzfeed and CNET have also begun using AI. "Is it any wonder that we can be primed to accept what marketers say about new tools and devices that supposedly reflect the abilities and benefits of artificial intelligence (AI)?"

☆ Elon Musk's 'Master Plan' for Tesla fails to charge up investors
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

March 2 (Reuters) - Tesla Inc's (TSLA.O) shares fell 6% premarket on Thursday, after Chief Executive Elon Musk and team's four-hour presentation failed to impress investors waiting for an affordable electric vehicle and a plan with a concrete timeline. However, the event, where Musk revealed the EV maker's 'Master Plan 3', was short on details about the timeline or any new Tesla products. "The timeline and cost details were limited, and the event lacked a Tesla-like surprise," Wells Fargo analyst Colin Langan said. The reduction plan was "bad news for the whole silicon carbide production chain and in particular for STMicro," Brokerage Equita said. It estimates that Tesla accounted for 70% of 2022 semiconductor sales at STMicro.

☆ Sen. Bernie Sanders calls vote on subpoena for Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Amelia Lucas | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Sen. Bernie Sanders is making good on his threat of a subpoena for Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz on what Sanders has called union-busting activity at the company's coffee shops. Sanders said Wednesday that the Senate's Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee will vote March 8 on whether to issue a subpoena for Schultz, who previously declined to appear in front of the committee. Sanders said in a statement that Schultz has denied meeting and document requests and refused to answer questions from him and his fellow senators. "Unfortunately, Mr. Schultz has given us no choice, but to subpoena him," Sanders said in a statement. In response, Sanders, who chairs the Senate committee, hinted that lawmakers could compel Schultz to appear by issuing a subpoena.

☆ The problem with home-flipping giants
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Aj Latrace | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Meanwhile, the corporate scalpers of the housing market — companies that buy and relist homes by the thousands without doing much, if any, work on them to make a profit — are struggling. Last week, two of the biggest remaining corporate home-flipping companies, Opendoor and Offerpad, reported dismal earnings, another sign that their business model is incredibly risky. Kelman also said one "problem is that iBuying is a staggering amount of money and risk for a now-uncertain benefit. At its core, the main business model of home-flipping firms doesn't create a ton of immediate value. Opendoor, Offerpad, and other companies that rushed to purchase homes are now discounting the asking prices of those homes to get them off their books.

☆ Starbucks displayed ‘egregious and widespread misconduct’ in union fight, judge says
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Danielle Wiener-Bronner | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

New York CNN —Starbucks has displayed “egregious and widespread misconduct” in its dealings with employees involved in efforts to unionize Buffalo, New York, stores, a National Labor Relations Board judge said in an order Wednesday. Starbucks workers attend a rally as they go on a one-day strike outside a store in Buffalo, New York, November 17, 2022. “I don’t think a union has a place in Starbucks,” Schultz recently told CNN’s Poppy Harlow. But we as a company have a right also to say, we have a different vision that is better,” he said. “This is truly a historic ruling,” Gary Bonadonna Jr., manager of the Rochester Regional Joint Board of Workers United, SEIU, said in a statement issued by Starbucks Workers United.

☆ A self-proclaimed 'Airbnb Queen' who managed other people's properties is accused of stealing from homeowners then fleeing town
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Dan Latu | Aj Latrace | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Massey told Fox 23 that when she confronted Widell on the accounting "irregularities," Widell lashed out and responded "aggressively." A separate unnamed property owner told Fox 23 that he paid Widell $11,000 to stage his rental. Since then, seven of Widell's tenants told Fox 23 their water had been shut off and they risk losing electricity. "Honestly, the worst thing she has done is taken away everyone's peace of mind," one tenant, Traci Nunnelly, told Fox 23. After convincing landlords to switch to Airbnb, Neth said, she would then seek to manage their listings as a paid property manager.

☆ Bernie Sanders is holding a vote to subpoena Howard Schultz for fighting Starbucks unionization
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Nicole Gaudiano | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Sen. Bernie Sanders announced he's holding a vote on issuing a subpoena for Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz. The Senate HELP chairman wants Schultz to testify on his company's fight against unionization. Sanders, the new chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, also wants the committee to authorize an investigation into major corporations' labor law violations. Schultz rejoined Starbucks as interim CEO in April 2022 and will transition out of the role this month, the company wrote to Sanders in February. "A multi-billion dollar corporation like Starbucks cannot continue to break federal labor law with impunity," Sanders said.

That is one of the cheapest prices in the EV group, and Fisker, which has produced only 56 vehicles so far, saw orders improve. Nikola said issues hurting demand for its battery-powered trucks would not ease any time soon. Rivian forecast 2023 production well below analyst estimates on Tuesday, citing nagging supply chain shortages, sending shares down 8% in after-hours trading. Bowe oversees investments in a host of startups, including EV charging companies, and said she was looking at investment opportunities in EV makers. But the four companies have already lost a combined $84 billion in value over the past year, given production woes and supply chain disruptions.

☆ How to 'layoff-proof' your job, from 6 top recruiters at Netflix, McKinsey, Walmart, and more
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Aj Eckstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

AJ Eckstein hosts a podcast interviewing recruiters from major tech, retail, and finance companies. Recruiters from PwC, Walmart, Lockheed Martin, Netflix, and more share how to safeguard your job. I'm a podcast host and job-search expert who interviews leading recruiters at some of the world's largest companies including Netflix, McKinsey & Company, Accenture, and Walmart. I've interviewed more than 30 recruiters in order to pull back the curtain on the recruitment process and help job seekers. "In a constantly shifting job market, employees shouldn't be stagnant either," he said.

☆ European shares kicks off week on solid footing, all sectors rise
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( Shreyashi Sanyal | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The blue-chip index (.STOXX) added 0.9%. It fell 1.4% last week after hotter-than-expected U.S. inflation data fuelled bets that the Federal Reserve would continue to raise rates. European retailers (.SXRP) rose 1.1%, led by a 3.1% increase in shares of Hennes & Mauritz (HMb.ST). Mould highlighted that consumer spending has been buttressed by gas prices coming down and help from government-support schemes across the single-currency bloc. Dechra Pharmaceuticals (DPH.L) tumbled 15.5%, to the bottom of the STOXX 600, as the veterinary drugs maker warned its full-year operating profit would be at the lower end of analysts' expectations.

☆ Home prices could drop 10% 'in many places' this year, said a 50-year real-estate veteran who's witnessed many booms and busts
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( Aj Latrace | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

One real-estate veteran sees the housing market cooling down further after a multiyear bull run. As prices fall, he added, there will also likely be a mass exodus of real-estate agents. For instance, San Francisco, San Jose, Seattle, and Phoenix have all seen their median home prices decline by 10% or higher since the housing market peaked last year. Liniger, who in 1973 established ReMax, which now has 140,000 real-estate agents in 110 countries, has witnessed numerous economic peaks and valleys over his 50-year career in real estate. Real-estate agents may flee the industryHowever, the housing bust of 2008 led to severe attrition of real-estate agents, and that exodus from the industry could be repeated this time around, Liniger said.

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