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☆ Pakistan, IMF reach staff-level pact to release stalled funds
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif meets with managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Kristalina Georgieva, in Paris, France June 22, 2023. Press Information Department (PID)/Handout via REUTERS/File PhotoISLAMABAD, June 30 (Reuters) - The International Monetary Fund (IMF) reached a staff-level pact with the IMF on a $3-billion stand-by agreement, the lender said on Thursday, a decision long awaited by the South Asian nation, which is teetering on the brink of default. The deal, subject to approval by the IMF board, comes after an eight-month delay and offers some respite to Pakistan, which is battling an acute balance of payments crisis and falling foreign exchange reserves. "The new standby agreement builds on the authorities' efforts under Pakistan's 2019 Extended Fund Facility-supported program which expires end-June," said IMF official Nathan Porter. Reporting by Jahnavi Nidumolu; Writing by Shivam Patel and Asif Shahzad; Editing by Clarence Fernandez and Himani SarkarOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Shehbaz Sharif, Kristalina Georgieva, Nathan Porter, Jahnavi Nidumolu, Shivam Patel, Asif Shahzad, Clarence Fernandez, Himani Organizations: Pakistan, International Monetary Fund, Press Information Department, REUTERS, Monetary Fund, IMF, South, Thomson Locations: Paris, France, ISLAMABAD, Pakistan

☆ The decision makers at 6 family offices reveal what it's really like behind the scenes at the private wealth management firms managing billions – and why they are so secretive
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-27 | by ( Ben Bergman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Family offices are the private wealth management firms managing the fortunes of wealthy families. But six people agreed to pull back the curtain on family offices to reveal their inner workings. Trust comes before everything elseThe world of family offices is built on relationships and trust before everything else. "Family offices really primarily are about wealth preservation," said Nisa Amoils, managing partner of A100x Ventures who also sits on the board of the Swig Family Office. "As much as it is a family business, it is also the business of family," said Swig.

Persons: Jahnavi Kumari Mewar, JKM, Oliver Swig, I've, Swig, We've, hasn't, Amoils, Consuelo Vanderbilt, SohoMuse, Vanderbilt, Maximilian Winter, Roy, Ben Bergman, bbergman Organizations: North, RBC, Campden, nouveau, Forbes Iconoclast Summit, A100x Ventures, Vanderbilt, Central American, Wimbledon, Harmonix, SOJA Ventures Locations: New York, Columbus, Central America, San Francisco

☆ Amazon raises investment in India to $26 bln by 2030
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] A man walks past a logo of Amazon Prime Video during a launch event in Mumbai, India, April 28, 2022. Earlier, Amazon had announced a $6.5 billion investment plan, largely to boost its e-commerce business where it competes with Walmart's Flipkart and billionaire Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Retail. The new investment amount committed now comes to around an additional $6.5 billion. The e-commerce giant's announced investment during Modi's trip adds to other companies, including U.S. semiconductor toolmaker Applied Materials and memory chip firm Micron Technology, which have made commitments during the Indian prime minister's state visit. Modi and Jassy spoke about supporting Indian startups, creating jobs, enabling exports, digitisation, and empowering individuals and small businesses to compete globally, an Amazon blog post said.

Persons: Francis Mascarenhas, Andy Jassy, Narendra Modi, Jassy, Walmart's Flipkart, Mukesh Ambani's, Modi, Sundar Pichai, Tim Cook, Google's, Satya Nadella, Aditya Kalra, William Mallard, Jacqueline Wong, Toby Chopra Organizations: Amazon Prime, REUTERS, Amazon.com Inc, Web Services, Amazon, giant's, Micron Technology, Google, Reuters, Twitter, U.S, Thomson Locations: Mumbai, India, DELHI, United States, U.S, City, India's, Gujarat, Washington

☆ Amazon commits to $15 billion India investment, CEO says
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

June 23 (Reuters) - Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) will invest an additional $15 billion in India, the company's Chief Executive Andy Jassy told Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his meeting on Friday. The investment will take the e-commerce giant's total India investment across all businesses to $26 billion by 2030, he said. Modi and Jassy spoke about supporting Indian startups, creating jobs, enabling exports, digitization, and empowering individuals and small businesses to compete globally, an Amazon blog post said. "We shared Google is investing $10 billion in the India digitization fund, and we are continuing to invest through that," Pichai said. ($1 = 81.9800 Indian rupees)Reporting by Jahnavi Nidumolu in Bengaluru; Editing by William MallardOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Andy Jassy, Narendra Modi, Modi, Jassy, Sundar Pichai, Pichai, Tim Cook, Google's, Satya Nadella, Jahnavi, William Mallard Organizations: Amazon.com Inc, Web Services, Google, Twitter, U.S, Thomson Locations: India, City, India's, Gujarat, Washington, Bengaluru

Epstein had been a JPMorgan client from 1998 and 2013 when the bank terminated his accounts. Lawyers for the victims plan to seek up to 30% of the settlement amount for legal fees, court records show. The victims' lawyers also represented Epstein victims in a similar $75 million settlement with Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE), where Epstein was also a client. JPMorgan also faces a lawsuit over Epstein by the U.S. Virgin Islands, where Epstein owned two neighboring islands. The case is Doe 1 v JPMorgan Chase Bank NA, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No.

Persons: Morgan Chase, Mike Segar, Jeffrey Epstein's, Epstein, Jan, Jed Rakoff, Jane Doe, JPMorgan, Rakoff preliminarily, Jes Staley, Staley, Jonathan Stempel, Jahnavi, Robert Birsel Organizations: Co, New York City, REUTERS, JPMorgan Chase's, U.S, JPMorgan, Deutsche Bank, Barclays, Reuters, U.S ., JPMorgan Chase Bank NA, Court, Southern District of, Thomson Locations: New York, U.S, Manhattan, U.S . Virgin Islands, Southern District, Southern District of New York, Bengaluru

☆ Magnitude 6.3 earthquake strikes northern Philippines
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MANILA, June 15 (Reuters) - An earthquake of magnitude 6.3 struck the Philippines' main island on Thursday, authorities said, halting some railway operations in the capital Manila. No casualties or major damage were reported after the quake, which struck out at sea at a depth of 10 kilometres (6.21 miles) and was felt in nearby provinces, the Philippine seismology agency said. Operations of the three elevated railway lines in Manila were stopped due to the earthquake, the transport ministry said. The seismology agency initially recorded a magnitude 6.2 earthquake, but later revised it to 6.3. Reporting by Jahnavi Nidumolu in Bengaluru, Enrico Dela Cruz and Neil Jerome Morales in Manila; Editing by Kanupriya KapoorOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Bernardo Rafaelito Alejandro, Ferdinand Marcos Jr, Peter Oliver Palacio, Jahnavi, Enrico Dela Cruz, Neil Jerome Morales, Kanupriya Kapoor Organizations: Railways, GMA, Thomson Locations: MANILA, Philippines, Manila, Philippine, Calatagan, Bengaluru

☆ Andreessen Horowitz to open its first international office in London
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

June 11 (Reuters) - U.S. venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, a major cryptocurrency investor, said on Sunday it will set up its first international office in London, at a time when U.S. regulators have increased scrutiny of the cryptocurrency sector. The London office, set to open later this year, will work with universities in the UK and support the development of blockchain technologies and startups, the company said in a statement, adding that it will be led by one of the firm's general partners, Sriram Krishnan. The decision follows talks with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and other authorities for months, Dixon said. Sunak said in the statement he is "determined to unlock opportunities" for blockchain technology and "turn the UK into the world’s Web3 centre". Reporting by Rishabh Jaiswal and Jahnavi Nidumolu in Bengaluru; Editing by Muralikumar AnantharamanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Andreessen Horowitz, Sriram Krishnan, Andreessen, We're, Chris Dixon, Andreessen's, Rishi Sunak, Dixon, Sunak, Rishabh Jaiswal, Muralikumar Organizations: U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, SEC, British, Thomson Locations: London, Bengaluru

☆ Instagram readies Twitter competitor for summer release - Bloomberg News
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

May 19 (Reuters) - Meta Platforms' (META.O) Instagram is planning to release a text-based app that will compete with Twitter and may debut as soon as June, Bloomberg News reported on Friday. Reporting by Jahnavi Nidumolu in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh KuberOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Blackstone, Apollo were among about 20 bidders for SVB's assets
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

May 10 (Reuters) - Blackstone Inc (BX.N) and Apollo Global Management (APO.N) were among about 20 bidders for some assets of collapsed Silicon Valley Bank, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) said on Wednesday. PNC Financial Services (PNC.N), Valley Bank, Citizens Bank and BankUnited (BKU.N) were also among the bidders, the FDIC said in a summary document, adding that one or more bidders submitted more than one bid. The bids, which closed on March 10, were followed by First Citizens BancShares (FCNCA.O) purchasing all the loans and deposits of SVB later that month. That was since eclipsed by First Republic Bank which was seized by regulators in early May and sold to JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N). The deal announced in March said First Citizens would acquire SVB's assets of $110 billion, deposits of $56 billion and loans of $72 billion.

☆ Blackstone, Apollo were among bidders for SVB's assets
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

May 10 (Reuters) - Blackstone Inc (BX.N), Apollo Global Management (APO.N) were among the bidders for some assets of bankrupt Silicon Valley Bank, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) said on Wednesday. PNC Financial Services (PNC.N), Valley Bank, Citizens Bank and BankUnited (BKU.N) were also part of the 19 bidders, the FDIC said. Reporting by Jahnavi Nidumolu in Bengaluru; Editing by Sandra MalerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

The advisers said the standoff between Republicans and Democrats in Congress and the White House has already raised taxpayer borrowing costs through weak Treasury auctions and high yields for short-dated Treasury Bills, while ratings agencies are already publishing analyses of potential U.S. ratings downgrades. They said the Treasury market's role as the backbone of the entire financial system would be called into question, leaving the debt market without a benchmark pricing firm and causing investors to pull back from fixed-income and equity markets. Their letter was distributed after President Joe Biden met with Republican House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy at the White House with no signs of softening their positions, though they agreed to continue talks. The advisers said that following the banking turmoil that started in March, the debate over raising the debt limit is "reckless and irresponsible." A protracted negotiation would have short-term costs, but a default is an "unthinkable" event, the executives said.

☆ First Republic Bank executives' trading probed by SEC investigators - Bloomberg News
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

May 5 (Reuters) - The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating the conduct of First Republic Bank executives before the government seizure and sale to JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N), Bloomberg News reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter. The SEC is looking into whether any members of the then-executive team of First Republic improperly traded on inside information, according to the report. Senator Elizabeth Warren accused First Republic executives of "mismanagement" in a letter to its former CEO Micahel Roffler and raised questions on the failed lender's risk management as well as pay and bonuses. Regulators seized troubled First Republic Bank and JPMorgan agreed to buy majority of its assets earlier this week, marking the largest U.S. bank failure since the 2008 financial crisis. JPMorgan declined to comment, while First Republic and SEC did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment.

☆ MSCI to lower free float of two Adani companies
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

May 5 (Reuters) - MSCI will lower the free float of two of India's Adani Group companies, Adani Total Gas (ADAG.NS) and Adani Transmission (ADAI.NS) in its May index review, the financial index provider said on Friday. MSCI now sees the Adani Total Gas' free float at 14% and Adani Transmission at 10%, from 25%. Free float is defined as the proportion of outstanding shares considered available for purchase in public equity markets by international investors. In February, MSCI postponed implementation of these updates to weightings that were due March and said "potential replicability issues" are behind the decision. MSCI also said in the same month it will review the free float designation of some of the Adani firms' securities after U.S. short seller Hindenburg Research accused it of improper use of offshore tax havens and stock manipulation.

☆ PacWest is weighing strategic options, including possible sale - Bloomberg News
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

May 3 (Reuters) - PacWest Bancorp (PACW.O) has been weighing a range of strategic options, including a sale, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter. Reporting by Jahnavi Nidumolu in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun KoyyurOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Montana governor seeks to broaden bill that would ban TikTok to cover other social media platforms - WSJ
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

April 25 (Reuters) - Montana Governor Greg Gianforte is seeking to broaden a bill that will ban not just TikTok, but other social media applications that provide certain data to foreign adversaries, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday. Earlier this month, Montana lawmakers passed a bill, known as SB 419, to ban TikTok, which is owned by Chinese tech company ByteDance, from operating in the state. TikTok as well as Apple Inc (AAPL.O) and Alphabet Inc's (GOOGL.O) Google, which operate mobile app stores, would face fines if they violate the ban, should the bill become law. The governor's proposed language in the broader bill removes app stores from being held liable for offering such social media apps for downloading in the state, WSJ said, citing an amended draft of the bill. TikTok is facing growing calls from some U.S. lawmakers to ban the app nationwide over concerns about potential Chinese government influence over the platform.

☆ Montana governor seeks changes to bill that would ban TikTok outright - WSJ
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

April 25 (Reuters) - Montana Governor Greg Gianforte is asking legislators to make changes to a bill that would be the first in the United States to ban TikTok outright, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday. The changes would broaden the ban from applying specifically to TikTok, owned by China-based ByteDance Ltd, and cover social-media applications that provide certain data to foreign adversaries, the report said, citing a draft of the amended bill language. Reporting by Jahnavi Nidumolu in Bengaluru; Editing by Edmund KlamannOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Chipmaker Arm to make its own semiconductor - FT
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

April 23 (Reuters) - British chipmaker Arm Ltd is building its own semiconductor to showcase the capabilities of its products, as it seeks to attract new customers and fuel growth following its Initial Public Offering (IPO) later this year, the Financial Times reported on Sunday. Arm will team up with manufacturing partners to develop the new semiconductor, FT said, citing people briefed on the move, adding that the company has built a new "solutions engineering" team that will lead the development of these prototype chips for mobile devices, laptops and other electronics. The SoftBank Group Corp(9984.T)-backed company's newest chip, on which it started work in the past six months, is "more advanced" than ever before, FT said, citing industry executives. The chip designer has no plans to sell or license the product and is only working on a prototype, FT said. Arm is a major supplier of intellectual property to many chip companies, especially in mobile phones and has partnerships with major chip contract manufacturers.

☆ Chipmaker Arm to make its own semiconductor, Financial Times reports
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

April 23 (Reuters) - British chipmaker Arm Ltd is building its own semiconductor to showcase the capabilities of its products, as it seeks to attract new customers and fuel growth following its Initial Public Offering (IPO) later this year, the Financial Times reported on Sunday. The SoftBank Group Corp(9984.T)-backed company's newest chip, on which it started work in the past six months, is "more advanced" than ever before, FT said, citing industry executives. The chip designer has no plans to sell or license the product and is only working on a prototype, FT said. Arm is a major supplier of intellectual property to many chip companies, especially in mobile phones and has partnerships with major chip contract manufacturers. Reporting by Jahnavi Nidumolu in Bengaluru Editing by Frances KerryOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Twitter drops 'government-funded' label on media accounts, including in China
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

April 21 (Reuters) - Twitter dropped the "Government-funded" and "China state-affiliated" labels, which implies government involvement in editorial content, from the accounts of various global media organizations, their profiles showed on Friday. Twitter dropped the "Government-funded Media" label from the accounts of U.S.-based National Public Radio (NPR), British Broadcasting Corp and Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC). It also dropped the "China state-affiliated media" tag on the accounts of Xinhua News as well as of journalists associated with government-backed publications. That led NPR and CBC to stop posting to their Twitter accounts, arguing that the label did not accurately capture their governance structure. Twitter, NPR, CBC and BBC did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the removal of the tag.

☆ Credit Suisse bondholders sue Swiss regulator over $17 bln bond wipeout -FT
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

April 21 (Reuters) - Credit Suisse Group AG (CSGN.S) bondholders, representing $4.5 billion of the $17 billion of wiped-out Additional Tier 1 bonds of the company, have filed a lawsuit against Switzerland's banking regulator, the Financial Times reported on Friday. The complaint says the regulator, Finma, acted unconstitutionally when it ordered Credit Suisse to cancel the AT1 debt, the FT report said. This move by the Swiss regulator in mid-March angered bondholders who thought they would be better protected than shareholders in a rescue deal with UBS (UBSG.S) earlier in the month. The lawsuit was filed by the law firm Quinn Emanuel in the city of St. Gallen in eastern Switzerland on Wednesday, FT said. The bondholder group holds a "significant" percentage of the total notional value of the bonds, Quinn Emanuel said earlier this month when it was hired by the bondholders group.

It is the first major lawsuit in the public domain to be filed over the Swiss decision to wipe out around $18 billion of Credit Suisse's Additional Tier 1 (AT1) debt during the 3 billion Swiss franc all-share rescue deal last month, which stunned markets and alerted litigators. The appeal against FINMA, the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority that ordered the writedown, was filed on April 18 in the Federal Administrative Court in St Gallen, north east Switzerland. "FINMA's decision undermines international confidence in the legal certainty and reliability of the Swiss financial center," said Thomas Werlen, Quinn Emanuel's Swiss managing partner. FINMA declined to comment and Credit Suisse did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. ($1 = 0.8941 Swiss francs)Reporting by Jahnavi Nidumolu in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D'SouzaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Twitter drops 'government-funded media' tag on NPR, other media accounts
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

April 21 (Reuters) - Twitter dropped the "Government-funded Media" tag, which implies government involvement in editorial content, on some accounts like National Public Radio (NPR) and Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), their accounts showed on Friday. Besides NPR and CBC, the tag, labeled 'state-affiliated media' earlier, was also absent from the British Broadcasting Corp's (BBC) Twitter account. Earlier this month, NPR and CBC paused their activities on the social media platform, arguing that the tag did not accurately capture their governance structure. We're adjusting the label to be 'publicly funded', which I think is perhaps not too objectionable," Musk had said. Reporting by Jahnavi Nidumolu in Bengaluru; Editing by Dhanya Ann ThoppilOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Branson's Virgin Orbit files Chapter 11 bankruptcy plan
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] Richard Branson, founder of Virgin Group, poses for a photograph on board of his new cruise liner, the Scarlet Lady at Dover Port in Dover, Britain, February 21, 2020. REUTERS/Simon DawsonApril 19 (Reuters) - Richard Branson's Virgin Orbit Holdings Inc and its subsidiaries in the United States filed a Chapter 11 bankruptcy plan with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, the company said in a statement on Wednesday. Earlier this month, Virgin Orbit filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after the satellite launch company struggled to secure long-term funding following a failed launch in January. "We expect the filing of the plan and disclosure statement will help us to efficiently conclude the Chapter 11 process once we have completed the sale of the company," Dan Hart, chief executive of Virgin Orbit said in the statement. The company is seeking the sale of its assets, after laying off roughly 85% of its 750 employees.

☆ Trump arrives in Manhattan for NY attorney general's deposition
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

April 13 (Reuters) - Former U.S. president Donald Trump has arrived in Manhattan for a deposition before New York's attorney general, Letitia James, he said on Thursday in a post on his social media platform, Truth Social. Reporting by Jahnavi Nidumolu in Bengaluru; Editing by Clarence FernandezOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Branson's Virgin Orbit files for bankruptcy, to seek buyer
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( Joey Roulette | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Virgin Orbit went public in 2021 through a blank-check deal, raising $255 million less than expected. Spun off from Branson's space tourism firm Virgin Galactic in 2017, Virgin Orbit air-launches rockets from beneath a modified Boeing (BA.N) 747 plane to send satellites into orbit. Virgin Orbit's strategy has been that launching small rockets from a 747 in flight would allow for short-notice launches from anywhere. Virgin Investments, a unit of Virgin Group, will provide $31.6 million in new money to Virgin Orbit through debtor-in-possession financing to fund operations while it looks for a buyer in bankruptcy, the companies said. Virgin Orbit's bankruptcy filing showed its largest creditor as London-based Arqit Ltd, which was owed almost $10 million for services and as a customer deposit.

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