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☆ Potentia hikes bid for Australia's Nitro Software to $364 mln, trumping Alludo
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Feb 23 (Reuters) - Australia's Nitro Software Ltd (NTO.AX) said on Thursday that private equity firm Potentia Capital raised its takeover offer for the software maker to A$532.3 million (about $364 million), trumping a rival offer by KKR Inc (KKR.N)-backed Alludo. In the latest salvo, Potentia, which has a 19.31% stake in Nitro, offered A$2.17-per-share, trumping Alludo's offer of A$2.15, which Nitro shareholders rejected a few weeks back. Potentia's latest offer was superior to Alludo's, Nitro's board said, despite it being at the lower end of the A$2.20- to A$2.30-per-share bid that had been signaled earlier. Potentia's offer is conditional on Nitro's board unanimously recommending its shareholders accept the latest offer, in the absence of a superior proposal. If the offer is declared unconditional, Nitro shareholders that accept the current bid will receive any subsequent increase in the offer price to A$2.20 or A$2.25, Potentia said.

☆ Wall St set for higher open as Nvidia outweighs Fed jitters
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Johann M Cherian | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Futures cut some gains after data showed the number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits unexpectedly fell last week. "Markets are tracking the earnings reports overnight from Nvidia," said Robert Pavlik, senior portfolio manager at Dakota Wealth. ET, Dow e-minis were up 39 points, or 0.12%, S&P 500 e-minis were up 15 points, or 0.38%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 106.25 points, or 0.88%. Analysts polled by Reuters predict a correction within the next three months even though they expect the S&P 500 (.SPX) to climb 5% by year-end. Moderna Inc (MRNA.O) fell 4.4% after the vaccine maker reaffirmed its annual sales forecast of $5 billion for its COVID-19 vaccines despite its fourth-quarter sales exceeding estimates.

☆ London stocks fall as rate hike worries linger, Lloyds drags
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Shashwat Chauhan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The blue-chip FTSE 100 (.FTSE) lost 0.9%, hitting its lowest level in over a week. The banking sector (.FTNMX301010) lost 1.4%, with shares of HSBC (HSBA.L) off 1.2% and Prudential (PRU.L) down 2.3%. London-listed shares of Rio Tinto (RIO.L) slumped 2.5% after the global miner posted a 38% drop in annual profit and more than halved its dividend. Those worries remain in focus ahead of the release, later in the day, of the minutes of the U.S. Federal Reserve's latest meeting. Despite the session's losses, the exporter-heavy FTSE 100 has had a strong start to the year, helped by some positive earnings and a stir in commodity prices.

☆ Merck's COVID pill fails to prevent infection among household members
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The results were similar to data from rival Pfizer Inc (PFE.N), whose COVID pill Paxlovid also failed to prevent infections among household contacts. Merck's late-stage trial enrolled over 1,500 participants, who were household contacts exposed to an individual with at least one symptom and had recently tested positive for COVID-19. Its Lagevrio pill, also known as molnupiravir, was given every 12 hours for five days and was compared with a placebo group. Participants treated with the pill were 23.6% less likely to develop COVID than those given a placebo through day 14, failing to meet the main goal of the trial, Merck said. Pfizer's Paxlovid and Merck's Lagevrio pills were given emergency use authorization in Dec. 2021 for patients with mild-to-moderate COVID that tested positive for the virus, and who were at risk of progressing to severe COVID.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index (.STOXX) closed 0.1% higher ahead of a slew of economic data due later this week. Telecom Italia (TIM) (TLIT.MI) fell 2.7% as a government-sponsored offer rivalling KKR's bid for the former phone monopoly's prized grid failed to materialise over the weekend. The EURO STOXX index (.STOXXE), which houses major companies in the eurozone, inched down 0.1%. On the economic front, euro zone consumer confidence rose by 1.7 points in February from January, as expected, figures showed. Forvia, the European car parts maker born from Faurecia's (EPED.PA) takeover of Hella (HLE.DE), forecast stable 2023 sales, sending Faurecia nearly 2.3% higher.

☆ European shares flat as Telecom Italia drags eurozone stocks
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-20 | by ( Shreyashi Sanyal | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The pan-European STOXX 600 index (.STOXX) was flat after opening marginally higher. That also boosted oil prices, lifting European energy stocks (.SXEP) by 0.3%. The EURO STOXX index (.STOXXE), which houses major companies in the eurozone, dipped 0.1%. Telecom Italia (TIM)(TLIT.MI) shares dropped 3% as a government-sponsored offer rivalling KKR's bid for the former phone monopoly's prized grid failed to materialise over the weekend. The European autos and auto parts sector index (.SXAP) rose 0.6%.

Meanwhile, money markets are currently pricing in a terminal rate of 5.3% by July. BofA Global Research also expects a 25bps hike in the Fed's June meeting, pushing the terminal rate up to a 5.25%-5.5% range. It had earlier pencilled in two rate hikes of 25 bps each in the March and May meetings. "Resurgent inflation and solid employment gains mean the risks to this (only two interest rate hikes) outlook are too one-sided for our liking," BofA wrote in a client note. Before the recent U.S. data, J.P. Morgan had forecast the terminal rate at 5.1% by the end of June.

☆ Air India has options to buy 370 more jets after mammoth order
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BENGALURU, Feb 16 (Reuters) - Air India has options and purchase rights to buy 370 more aircraft from Airbus and Boeing over the next decade, an company executive said in a recent LinkedIn post, days after the carrier unveiled a record order for 470 jets. "The order comprises of 470 firm aircraft, 370 options and purchase rights to be procured from Airbus and Boeing over the next decade," said Nipun Aggarwal, chief commercial and transformation officer at Air India, wrote in a post late Wednesday. The firm order comprises 220 Boeing (BA.N) planes and 250 Airbus (AIR.PA) aircraft, while the options can be converted to firm orders at a later date. Aggarwal also said Air India had signed long-term engine maintenance contracts with CFM International (CFM), Rolls-Royce (RR.L) and GE Aerospace (GE.N). Aggarwal said the aspiration with this order is to connect India "non-stop" to every major city in the world and shows the "tremendous economic potential" unleashed by the privatisation of Air India.

MUMBAI, Feb 15 (Reuters) - The anticipation of Housing Development Finance Corp (HDFC.NS), India's largest mortgage lender, executing an interest-rate hedge once it completes its mega bond sale this week, is driving longer-duration bond yields lower, traders said on Wednesday. "HDFC is likely to do the trade on or post Friday, once it receives the money from its bond issuance," one of the bankers said. Under the trade, the banks will pay HDFC the yield on a government bond and in return receive the benchmark overnight rate plus a markup. The price risk on the bond is borne by HDFC and hence the name total return swap (TRS). And when the banks execute these swaps, there will likely be bunched-up demand for these bonds, which will pressure yields, traders said.

SummarySummary Companies Retail sales up 3% in Jan vs. est. A Commerce Department report showed retail sales surged 3% in January, driven by purchases of motor vehicles and other goods. "These numbers (retail sales) beat consensus by a long shot and it just shows that the consumer is still in a good spot," said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Spartan Capital Securities in New York. Of the more than half of the S&P 500 firms that have reported results so far, nearly 70% have topped profit expectations, as per Refinitiv data. ET, Dow e-minis were down 82 points, or 0.24%, S&P 500 e-minis were down 11.25 points, or 0.27%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were down 25.5 points, or 0.2%.

☆ London's FTSE 100 muted as bank stocks fall; weaker pound limits losses
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Shashwat Chauhan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The blue-chip FTSE 100 (.FTSE) fell 0.1%, hovering near a record high. British lender Barclays (BARC.L) slid 8.3% to the bottom of the FTSE 100 and was set to post its biggest drop in nearly a year after reporting a 14% slump in full-year profit. The FTSE 350 banking index (.FTNMX301010) fell 1.9%, on track for its biggest one-day drop in more than two months. The pound edged lower after data showed British consumer price inflation fell more than expected in January and there were also drops in underlying measures of inflation that are being closely watched by the Bank of England. The FTSE 100 has had a stellar start to the year boosted by upbeat corporate earnings, rising more than 6% so far this year.

☆ Adani looks to repay $500 mln bridge loan taken for cement deals-ET
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BENGALURU, Feb 15 (Reuters) - India's embattled Adani Group is in talks with lenders to repay a $500 million bridge loan facility it had taken to buy controlling stakes in cement companies ACC Ltd (ACC.NS) and Ambuja Cements Ltd (ABUJ.NS) last year, the Economic Times daily reported on Wednesday. The group is looking to repay the bridge loan with cash this month, the report said, citing people aware of the matter, adding that the loan had a tenor of six months and was part of a larger $5.25 billion financing package. The loan was underwritten by Barclays (BARC.L), Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE) and Standard Chartered (STAN.L), ET reported. The financial consortium lending to Adani also includes DBS, MUFG, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp, First Abu Dhabi Bank, Intesa and Mizuho, the report said. Adani and the lenders did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment.

☆ Adani Group likely to repay short-term commercial paper borrowings - bankers
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( Bhakti Tambe | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Adani Enterprises and Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd (APSE.NS) regularly raise funds by issuing CPs – short-term debt instruments issued to meet working capital requirements. "All payments are being made as per schedule," an Adani group spokesperson said in an e-mail, but did not respond to queries on whether investors are seeking early redemption. Adani Ports has CPs worth 35 billion rupees due to mature through end March, data from information service provider Prime Database showed. So, we may see them (Adani Group) staying away from the market for some time," said one banker, who regularly arranges debt issuances for the group. The Adani Group spokesperson denied media reports that these bond issues have been scrapped, saying this is "speculation" and "not true" in a reply to Reuters' mail.

☆ European shares up as travel stocks shine, Thyssenkrupp slides
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( Shreyashi Sanyal | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The continent-wide STOXX 600 index (.STOXX) rose 0.4%, while European travel & leisure stocks (.SXTP) advanced 0.8%. TUI's German-listed shares (TUIGn.DE) rose 2.5%, with its shares listed in London adding 2.5% after the company reported more bookings and higher first-quarter revenue. In Europe, a flash reading of fourth quarter GDP is also on the radar on growing hopes that the euro zone economy most likely avoided a recession. The STOXX 600 has risen over 9% so far this year led by better-than-expected earnings and a brighter outlook for the euro zone economy. Reporting by Shreyashi Sanyal in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D'Souza and Dhanya Ann ThoppilOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Blackstone says India top Asian market, eyes infra investments
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( M. Sriram | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

MUMBAI, Feb 14 (Reuters) - India will continue to be Blackstone Inc's (BX.N) biggest market in Asia and the private equity giant may consider infrastructure investments there in the future, a top company executive said on Tuesday. Blackstone said it manages assets worth $50 billion in India, including in private equity and real estate. Private equity deals in India totalled $32 billion last year, a 27% drop from 2021. Even as Blackstone remains bullish on India, Gray said more certainty around tax and capital market laws will help increase foreign investments in India. China's share in Asia's total private equity deal value dropped to 28% in 2022 from 41% in 2021, the data showed.

☆ Indian digital payments firm PhonePe raises $100 mln at $12 bln valuation
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BENGALURU, Feb 14 (Reuters) - Indian digital payments firm (WMT.N) PhonePe said on Tuesday it has raised $100 million from Ribbit Capital, Tiger Global and TVS Capital Funds in a funding round that valued the Walmart Inc-backed company at $12 billion. The latest round is part of PhonePe's primary fundraise that took place last month through which the company raised $350 million from General Atlantic. Having raised $450 million in six weeks, PhonePe said it expects to raise the rest from global and Indian investors in due course. Despite a funding winter, the Indian digital payments space has been a bright spot due to the popularity of online payments and startups' ambitions to branch into the lucrative financial services space. PhonePe, in which U.S. retail giant Walmart has had a majority stake since 2018, completed its separation from Indian e-commerce major Flipkart last year.

☆ India watchdog probes short-seller's allegations about Adani, market activity
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-13 | by ( Arpan Chaturvedi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) also said it was looking into the market activity immediately before and after Hindenburg published its report on Jan. 24, the filing said. Led by billionaire Gautam Adani, Adani Group's seven listed companies have together lost about $120 billion in market value since Hindenburg's critical report, which included allegations of improper use of offshore tax havens and stock manipulation, Adani Group has denied the allegations. Earlier on Monday, India's Adani Group sought to reassure investors, saying its business plans were fully-funded, its cashflows strong and it remained confident of delivering attractive returns to shareholders. SEBI has been examining trade patterns and any potential irregularities in the $2.5 billion share sale of flagship company Adani Enterprises (ADEL.NS) that the Adani group was forced to cancel due to the plunge in its shares, Reuters has previously reported citing sources. SEBI confirmed the existence of the investigation for the first time in its Supreme Court filing.

☆ Indian market regulator to update finance ministry on Adani probe this week - sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-13 | by ( Jayshree Pyasi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MUMBAI, Feb 13 (Reuters) - India's market regulator will update the finance ministry this week on its investigation into the Adani Group's withdrawn $2.5 billion follow-on public issue, two sources familiar with the matter said on Monday. The SEBI board will brief the minister on surveillance measures taken by the regulator during the recent rout in Adani group stocks, the sources added. An update on investigations into offshore fund flows into Adani Group entities is also likely, the sources added. The regulator had undertaken a series of surveillance actions to ensure that the volatility in the Adani group companies' share prices was contained. This will be a part of the brief to the finance minister on Wednesday, the sources said.

☆ Entain's shares tumble as MGM scraps buyout plan
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Feb 9 (Reuters) - Shares of Entain plc (ENT.L) tumbled up to 13% on Thursday after the U.S-based MGM Resorts International (MGM.N) said it had "moved on" from pursuing an offer for the British gambling firm. MGM Chief Executive William Hornbuckle said in a post-earnings call on Wednesday that although it remained focused on online sportsbook BetMGM - a joint venture with Entain - it saw great potential in the expansion of Swedish online gaming company LeoVegas, which it bought last year. Entain's shares fell as much as 13% to an over one-month low of 1365.5 pence in morning trade. Reporting by Radhika Anilkumar in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D'SouzaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Bullish bets on Asian FX ease as Fed rate-hike concerns weigh - Reuters poll
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( Himanshi Akhand | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Long positions on the South Korean won , the Singapore dollar and the Indonesian rupiah eased, while market participants turned bearish on the Indian rupee , according to a fortnightly poll of 10 respondents. The dollar is currently hovering near a one-month high after blockbuster U.S. jobs data last Friday boost expectations that the Fed may continue to hike rates to tame inflation. Investors also scaled back long bets on China's yuan , to a near one-month low, the Malaysian ringgit as well as Asia's best-performing currency this year, the Thai baht . Meanwhile, investors turned slightly bearish on the Indian rupee as concerns over a rout in local equities filtered into money markets. The poll uses estimates of net long or short positions on a scale of minus 3 to plus 3.

☆ European shares hit nine-month high on upbeat cues from Fed's Powell
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Feb 8 (Reuters) - European shares hit a more-than-nine-month high on Wednesday as investors drew positive cues from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's remarks overnight, while Linde's and Akzo Nobel's upbeat forecasts led material and chemical stocks higher. The pan-European STOXX 600 (.STOXX) was up 0.6% at 0818 GMT, hitting its strongest level since April 2022. German gas giant Linde and Dutch paints maker Akzo Nobel (AKZO.AS) jumped 2.4% and 6.5%, respectively, after giving higher 2023 earnings forecasts. Finnish refiner Neste (NESTE.HE) jumped 11% and was the top performer on the STOXX 600 on the back of a comparable fourth-quarter core operating results beat. Norwegian energy firm Equinor (EQNR.OL) gained 6.1% following a record $74.9 billion adjusted operating profit for 2022.

Capping declines on the tech-heavy Nasdaq (.IXIC) was megacap Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O). Seven of the top 11 sectors on the S&P 500 were in declines, but technology (.SPLRCT) was among top gainers propped up by Microsoft. Expectations of high rates for a protracted period dragged Wall Street's main indexes down on Monday. But, all three major averages are in the black for 2023, with the Nasdaq (.IXIC) adding over 13%, led by a revival in battered mega-cap growth stocks. So far, more than half of the companies on the S&P 500 have reported quarterly earnings, with 69.1% of them beating expectations, according to Refinitiv.

Expectations of high rates for a protracted period dragged Wall Street's main indexes down on Monday. So far, 272 companies on the S&P 500 have reported quarterly earnings, with 69.1% of them beating expectations, according to Refinitiv. ET, Dow e-minis were down 108 points, or 0.32%, S&P 500 e-minis were down 7.25 points, or 0.18%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were down 1.5 points, or 0.01%. DuPont (DD.N) reversed earlier declines to rise 1.0%, on a higher-than-expected quarterly profit supported by higher pricing for its products. Reporting by Shubham Batra in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D'Souza and Saumyadeb ChakrabartyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Apollo assessing possible CS First Boston investment -source
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Feb 7 (Reuters) - Apollo Global Management Inc (APO.N) is among a group of financial firms considering investing in Credit Suisse's (CSGN.S) revamped investment bank CS First Boston, a source with knowledge of the matter told Reuters. U.S. asset manager and private equity firm Apollo has been contacted by the Swiss bank about investing in CS First Boston (CSFB) but has yet to make a decision, the source added. It will now focus on managing money for the wealthy and create CSFB to run its investment banking activities. Apollo has already committed to buying the bulk of Credit Suisse's securitized products group, which will be outside CSFB. Credit Suisse, which reports fourth-quarter earnings on Feb. 9, said in November that it expects to complete the transaction by mid-2023.

☆ Apollo Global in talks to buy stake in Credit Suisse unit -WSJ
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Feb 7 (Reuters) - Apollo Global Management Inc (APO.N) is among a group of financial firms in talks to buy a stake in Credit Suisse Group's (CSGN.S) revamped investment bank, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter. The talks with Apollo are continuing and could still fall apart, the report said, without mentioning the size of the potential stake or the potential deal value. Both Apollo Global and Credit Suisse declined to comment on the report. The entity advises on mergers and acquisitions, raises capital for clients through equity and debt markets, and provides leveraged finance as part of its core offerings. Reporting by Shivani Tanna in Bengaluru; Editing by Sohini Goswami and Savio D'SouzaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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