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☆ World Bank and kin head for a $100 bln cash call
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-20 | by ( Hugo Dixon | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

World Bank President Ajay Banga arrives for a signing ceremony with Thailand to host the 2026 International Monetary Fund and the World Bank annual meetings on the last day of this year's meeting, following last month's deadly earthquake, in Marrakech, Morocco, October 15, 2023. REUTERS/Susana Vera Acquire Licensing RightsLONDON, Nov 20 (Reuters Breakingviews) - The World Bank and its fellow institutions are heading for a cash call. The World Bank and its regional peers, such as the African Development Bank and the Asian Development Bank, are well placed to help developing countries craft strategies to develop in a green way. Donald Trump may seem an unlikely supporter of the World Bank if he wins. The People’s Republic, for its part, will want to increase its stake in the World Bank as part of any capital increase.

Persons: Ajay Banga, Susana Vera, Fitch don’t, Chris Humphrey, Janet Yellen, Joe Biden, Donald Trump, There’s, David Cameron, Peter Thal Larsen, Thomas Shum Organizations: Monetary Fund, World Bank, REUTERS, Reuters, African Development Bank, Asian Development Bank, Group, FIRST, AAA, Bank, Moody’s, European Bank for Reconstruction, U.S, Thomson Locations: Thailand, Marrakech, Morocco, Washington, United States, China, Britain, Ukraine, U.S, Israel, Republic, United Kingdom, France

☆ Silicon Valley saw OpenAI with eyes wide shut
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-20 | by ( Anita Ramaswamy | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

NEW YORK, Nov 19 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Silicon Valley’s weekend episode with artificial intelligence company OpenAI seems much like the technology: the input is a mishmash, so the output is flawed. The Microsoft-backed (MSFT.O) company’s board fired boss Sam Altman, and now, according to reports, may bring him back. OpenAI has been the leader in AI technology, which is bolstering valuations in the face of slowing growth in Silicon Valley. By September, OpenAI was seeking a valuation of nearly triple that, according to Reuters. Yet with or without Altman, OpenAI’s issues are clear and abundant.

Persons: Sam Altman, Altman, Greg Brockman, Satya Nadella, OpenAI, ’, OpenAI’s, chipmaker, chatbot, Brockman, Greg, Lauren Silva Laughlin, Thomas Shum Organizations: Reuters, Microsoft, Stanford, UC Berkley, OpenAI’s, San Francisco, Wall Street, Thomson Locations: Silicon Valley, U.S

☆ Multipolar world opens up surprising safe havens
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-17 | by ( Felix Martin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

This new-look cap table leaves the U.S. much more vulnerable to the vagaries of foreign investors than before. In a crisis, foreign investors would rush to buy even more U.S. debt. Reuters GraphicsA less orthodox option would be to invest in emerging markets instead. The last time net equity investment in the U.S. NIIP dipped close to negative territory was as the dot-com bubble was deflating in 2001. In the next six years the U.S. saw net equity outflows equivalent to nearly 30% of GDP.

Persons: Hubert Védrine, Xi Jinping, Joe Biden, ’, Donald Trump’s, exceptionalism, NIIP, Peter Thal Larsen, Streisand Neto, Thomas Shum Organizations: Reuters, French, U.S, United, United States, Treasury, Equity, U.S . Treasury, Japan, Democratic, Cooperation Council, Peterson Institute for International, Fed, ECB ”, Thomson Locations: United States, tatters, United, U.S, China, Hong Kong, Switzerland, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Argentina, Mexico, Brazil, Vietnam, India, Chile, Democratic Republic of, Congo, Washington

☆ Alibaba’s U-turn casts dark clouds over China tech
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-17 | by ( Anshuman Daga | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Alibaba (9988.HK) scrapped the spinoff of its prized cloud computing business, blaming U.S. curbs on advanced chips. The U-turn dashes market expectations of stability among technology companies after the end of Beijing’s years-long regulatory crackdown. Add in so-so results from Alibaba’s main businesses, also reported on Thursday, and it is hard to see a silver lining in the dark clouds gathering over China’s technology sector. The technology giant reported revenue of 224.8 billion yuan ($31 bln) in the three months to September, up 9% year-on-year, and in line with market estimates. Alibaba posted a net profit attributable to shareholders of 27.7 billion yuan versus a net loss of 20.6 billion yuan, due to an increase in the value of its equity investments.

Persons: Lisi Niesner, Daniel Zhang, Zhang, Alibaba, Francesco Guerrera, Thomas Shum Organizations: IFA, REUTERS, Rights, Reuters, HK, Thomson Locations: Berlin, Germany, Rights SINGAPORE, Hong Kong, U.S, China

☆ China moves to clean up Huarong’s “bad bank” brand
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The logo of China Huarong Asset Management Co is seen at its office in Beijing, China, April 16, 2021. REUTERS/Thomas Peter Acquire Licensing RightsSINGAPORE, Nov 16 (Reuters Breakingviews) - What’s better than cleaning up your battered brand? That’s the view of China Huarong Asset Management (2799.HK), one of the country’s four so-called bad banks created after the 1997 Asian financial crisis to buy soured loans from state-owned lenders. Late on Wednesday, it renamed itself “China CITIC Financial Asset Management” after its top shareholder, state-owned financial conglomerate CITIC group. Now that Huarong has taken up the CITIC brand, the state’s support of the bad bank has more at stake if its troubles don't go away.

Persons: Thomas Peter Acquire, Lai Xiaomin, Huarong, Yawen Chen, Francesco Guerrera, Thomas Shum Organizations: Asset, REUTERS, Rights, Reuters, Asset Management, HK, Financial, Management, CITIC Ltd, CITIC, X, Goodyear, Alstom, Thomson Locations: China, Beijing, Rights SINGAPORE, Huarong, CITIC's Hong Kong

U.S. President Joe Biden and China’s Xi Jinping, who met in San Francisco on Wednesday, may disagree on the terminology. Barely half the manufactured goods imported into the United States from low-cost Asian countries now come from China. Chinese firms have raised just $529 million from initial and secondary stock offerings in the United States in the year to mid-October. But the conscious decoupling between the U.S. and China looks set to continue. Follow @ugalani and @a_fitri_alias on XCONTEXT NEWSU.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping met on Nov. 15 in San Francisco on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum.

Persons: Xi, Joe Biden, Kevin Lamarque, friendshoring, China’s Xi Jinping, Breakingviews, Donald Trump, China’s ByteDance, Reuters Graphics Reuters Graphics Goldman Sachs, Xi Jinping, Una, Peter Thal Larsen, Oliver Taslic, Thomas Shum Organizations: U.S, Economic Cooperation, REUTERS, Rights, Reuters, People’s Republic . U.S, People’s, World Trade Organization, Reuters Graphics Reuters, FRAYING FINANCE, U.S . Federal Reserve, Federal, Investment Board, HK, Republican, Reuters Graphics Apple, United, Reuters Graphics Reuters Graphics, Thomson Locations: Filoli, Asia, Woodside , California, U.S, Rights MUMBAI, United States, China, Washington, People’s Republic ., San Francisco, People’s Republic, Southeast Asia, Hong Kong, That’s, New York, Greater China, India, TAIWAN, Taiwan, Una Galani, Mumbai, London

☆ China’s property boost has to sway wary banks
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-15 | by ( Chan Ka Sing | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

That didn’t work because lenders balked at increasing their exposure to over-leveraged real estate groups. Xi needs to articulate a broader plan to restore banks’ confidence in the troubled property sector. Beijing’s problem is that the cash it doles out may not reach the intended targets because banks are reluctant to pass it on to property developers. Chinese banks heeded the strong signal coming from Beijing. Still, simply throwing money at reluctant banks won’t help heal the current real estate wounds.

Persons: Aly, homebuyers, Xi, shantytown redevelopments, ”, Francesco Guerrera, Thomas Shum Organizations: REUTERS, Reuters, People’s Bank of China, Authorities, Bloomberg, Financial Times, Reuters Graphics Reuters, Thomson Locations: Guangfuli, Shanghai, China, HONG KONG, Beijing, shantytown

☆ Fierce e-commerce war leaves Sea in stormy waters
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

In August, CEO Forrest Li declared that Sea (SE.N) would ramp up spending to fight off intense competition. Perhaps that’s because Sea had just reset its strategy over the past year. It had retreated from overseas markets, slashed marketing costs and shed thousands of jobs to claw its way to profitability. Li on Tuesday stressed that the company would prioritise investments to increase its market share, encouraged by its cash pile of about $8 billion. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

Persons: Forrest Li, Li, taints, Cameron, Francesco Guerrera, Thomas Shum Organizations: Reuters, Alibaba, HK, X, Thomson Locations: SINGAPORE, New York, Singapore

☆ COP28’s big challenge: green cash for poor states
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-15 | by ( George Hay | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

Rather than drawing attention to this paucity of ambition, al-Jaber wants states to commit to trebling global capacity of renewable energy by 2030. Progress in China and the West is largely a function of cash: these regions accounted for 84% of the $1.3 trillion committed to global climate finance in 2022. They calculate that by 2030, developing countries need to invest around $2.4 trillion a year in order to decarbonise their economies. The problem is that the developed world has consistently missed targets to channel climate cash to less developed counterparts. In September al-Jaber announced a $4.5 billion scheme to deploy UAE state cash and private sector resources to help Africa decarbonise.

Persons: al, Jaber, hasn’t, Nicholas Stern, Stern, Ajay Banga, Mark Carney, Shriti Vadera, Larry Fink, Joko Widodo, UAE Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed, Nahyan, Breakingviews, Peter Thal Larsen, Oliver Taslic, Thomas Shum Organizations: Reuters, United, Conference of, Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, United Nations, International Energy Agency, The, IEA, World Bank, concessional, Bank, Bank of England, Prudential, BlackRock, U.S, Indonesian, Africa decarbonise, UAE Crown, Thomson Locations: United Arab Emirates, Abu Dhabi, Paris, China, The U.S, British, Egypt, Indonesia, Japan, South Africa, Vietnam, U.S, Al, UAE, Africa, COP28, Dubai

☆ More US-China take-privates could get feisty
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-14 | by ( Anshuman Daga | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

It is unusual to see a ruckus over a U.S.-listed Chinese firm. Would-be acquirors of Hollysys include the company’s own management, a buyout firm and a consortium including Chinese state-owned investors. The segment constitutes 65% of Hollysys’ top line, which has risen by over 50% from three years ago. The Hollysys affair suggests shareholders can expect a little bit more as Chinese companies bid farewell to the United States. The $26 per share cash offer represents a 26% premium to the closing price on Nov. 3.

Persons: Janet Yellen, Mark Schiefelbein, Hong, Recco, Kong’s, David Blennerhassett, Hollysys, Una Galani, Thomas Shum Organizations: Treasury, Lifeng, Rights, Reuters, U.S, Nasdaq, Oasis Management, Capital Partners, Quiddity Advisors, ABB, Emerson Electric, VNET, Ascendent Capital Partners, Automation Technologies, Recco Control Technology, Hong, Investment, Thomson Locations: Beijing, China, Rights SINGAPORE, United States, People's Republic, Washington, Hong Kong, U.S, Singapore

☆ Europe’s shrinking stash heralds economic trouble
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-14 | by ( Francesco Guerrera | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

But the interest they earned on their assets increased from 16 billion euros to 66 billion euros in the same period. As a result, euro zone firms’ net interest was negative 19 billion euros in the second quarter of 2023. These financial gains may have helped euro zone growth. A further 700 billion euros matures in 2026. Homeowners with mortgages, which account for around 27% of euro zone households, are yet to feel the brunt of higher rates.

Persons: That’s, Mathieu Savary, Gross, Peter Thal Larsen, Oliver Taslic, Thomas Shum Organizations: Reuters, European Central Bank, Reuters Graphics Reuters, ECB, BCA Research, Oxford Economics, International Monetary Fund, Oxford, IMF, Thomson Locations: Oxford, Spain, Italy, France, Germany, United States, China

☆ China’s Singles Day shows buyers’ commitment issue
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-13 | by ( Chan Ka Sing | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The Alibaba Group logo is seen during the company's 11.11 Singles' Day global shopping festival at their headquarters in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, China, November 11, 2020. The Singles Day sales period ended up with anemic growth in transactions, despite steep discounts by retailers. Alibaba (9988.HK), , the e-commerce giant behind Singles Day, used to hold a lavish gala in Shanghai to celebrate the consumption extravaganza. And China’s State Post Bureau said on Sunday that express delivery volume hit a record high during the Singles Day period, rising more than 23% between November 1 and November 11, compared to the previous year. Beijing may hope Chinese shoppers are more fatigued by the Singles Day’s barrage of promotions than consumption itself.

Persons: Aly, Xi, Taylor Swift, Alibaba, It’s, JD.com, Goldman Sachs, Francesco Guerrera, Thomas Shum Organizations: REUTERS, Reuters, HK, Post Bureau, Reuters Graphics Reuters, Thomson Locations: Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, China, HONG KONG, Shanghai, Beijing

☆ The West could live with a frozen Ukraine conflict
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-13 | by ( Hugo Dixon | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

Ukraine may be heading for a similarly frozen conflict with Russia. So a frozen conflict would help the West achieve – at least partly – its key geostrategic aim: to show hostile powers that it doesn’t pay to invade one of its friends. In a frozen conflict, Ukraine would still need to invest heavily in massive fortifications, anti-missile defence systems and technology to deter Russian attacks. ECONOMIC WARIn a frozen conflict, sanctions against Russia would probably remain more or less in place. REBUILDING UKRAINEIt will be harder to rebuild Ukraine’s infrastructure in a frozen conflict than if there was peace.

Persons: Nuzhnenko, Vladimir Putin, Putin, Valery Zaluzhny, Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s, Joe Biden, Donald Trump, Tim Ash, Peter Thal Larsen, Thomas Shum Organizations: Ukraine's National Guard Omega, Radio Free, Radio Liberty, REUTERS Acquire, Reuters, Moscow, Hamas, U.S, EU, International Monetary Fund, Kremlin, Investors, BlueBay Asset Management, Soviet, Cyprus, European Commission, West, Thomson Locations: Avdiivka, Ukraine, Donetsk region, Radio Free Europe, Korea, Cyprus, Russia, Kyiv, –, Israel, United States, Moscow, North Korea, Iran, Russian, UKRAINE, West Germany, Soviet Union

☆ SoftBank’s optimistic talk falls on deaf ears
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SoftBank Group Corp Chairman and CEO Masayoshi Son speaks during their joint news conference with Toyota Motor Corp President Akio Toyoda (not pictured) in Tokyo, Japan October 4, 2018. REUTERS/Issei Kato Acquire Licensing RightsSINGAPORE, Nov 10 (Reuters Breakingviews) - All credit to SoftBank’s (9984.T) finance chief for trying to accentuate the positive. The weakening currency lopped off 183 billion yen. Taking such a big loss when analysts, per S&P Capital IQ, expected a $1.2 billion profit, though, was. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

Persons: Masayoshi Son, Akio Toyoda, Issei Kato, Yoshimitsu Goto, SoftBank, Antony Currie, Thomas Shum Organizations: SoftBank Group, Toyota Motor Corp, REUTERS, Rights, Reuters, X, SEC, Thomson Locations: Tokyo, Japan, Rights SINGAPORE, Arm’s

☆ Japan has become a gold mine for value investors
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-10 | by ( Edward Chancellor | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

Having experienced a multi-decade decline after 1990, Japanese stocks have escaped the doldrums. Reuters GraphicsAnother shadow that has long lingered over corporate Japan is management teams which tended to neglect shareholders and prioritise the interests of other stakeholders. METI is also redefining the aim of Japanese companies, says Stephen Codrington, founder of the independent research firm Codrington Japan. Japan, whose regime was formerly unfriendly to equity investors, is moving in the opposite direction, says Drew Edwards, head of GMO Usonian Japan. Japan, as Codrington says, has become a gold mine for value investors.

Persons: Jeremy Siegel, “ Stocks, It's, Alex Kinmont, James Montier, METI, Stephen Codrington, Codrington, Toby Rodes, Edward McQuarrie, McQuarrie, Drew Edwards, there’s, Warren Buffett, Peter Thal Larsen, Thomas Shum Organizations: Reuters, Investors, Credit Suisse Global Investment, Nikkei, U.S ., Local, Credit Suisse, Ministry, Economy, Trade, Industry, Electronics, Hitachi, Fujitsu, Investment, Toyota, Investment Fund, Tokyo Stock Exchange, Kaname, Takisawa Machine Tool, managements, Toyota Industries, Santa Clara University, U.S, Thomson Locations: Japan, U.S, Europe, Codrington Japan, United States

☆ Hong Kong finance summit tiptoes around China
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-09 | by ( Peter Thal Larsen | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

HONG KONG, Nov 9 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Hong Kong in November enjoys a pleasant climate that some local managers dub “chairman weather”. Hong Kong is hardly a hot destination for financiers right now. Companies raised just $2.7 billion from initial public offerings in Hong Kong in the quarter, a fraction of previous years. Hong Kong officials including John Lee, the territory’s chief executive, have been sanctioned by the U.S.. Follow @peter_tl on XCONTEXT NEWSThe Global Financial Leaders’ Summit was held in Hong Kong from Nov. 6 to Nov. 8.

Persons: Marc Rowan, Colm Kelleher, Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, David Solomon, Jane Fraser, Ken Griffin, Hong, John Lee, Eddie Yue, Kung, Zhang Qingsong, Bob Prince, Mark Wiedman, Apollo’s Rowan, UBS’s Kelleher, Joseph Yam, Una Galani, Thomas Shum Organizations: Reuters, Apollo Global Management, UBS, Monetary Fund, Companies, Citigroup, Citadel, Hong Kong Monetary Authority, Hong Kong’s HK, Exchange, People’s Bank of China, Bridgewater Associates, BlackRock, Goldman, Bank for International, Global, ’, Thomson Locations: HONG KONG, Hong Kong, Europe, U.S, China . Hong Kong, China, People’s Republic, Hong, British, Singapore, BLK.N, ”

☆ India’s gamified equities are a wake-up call
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-08 | by ( Pranav Kiran | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The result is an acceleration of Indian savings away from gold and real estate into financial products. However, it is also leading to what Ashish Gupta, chief investment officer at Axis Bank’s mutual fund, dubs “the gamification of Indian equities”. A frenzy for index options has driven up volume in the derivatives market to the tune of $4.3 trillion a day. Retail traders made up a higher share of equity derivatives turnover than their institutional counterparts on the National Stock Exchange between 2017 and 2021. Whatever the fix, it’s a reminder that India’s digital leapfrog which other developing countries are urgently trying to replicate has a dark side too.

Persons: Francis Mascarenhas, Ashish Gupta, Gupta, weren’t, Ananth Narayan, SEBI, Nithin Kamath, Zerodha, Lalit Keshre, Una Galani, Thomas Shum Organizations: Bombay Stock Exchange, REUTERS, Rights, Reuters, National Stock Exchange, Tiger, Securities, Exchange Board of India, Thomson Locations: Mumbai, India, U.S

☆ Private equity superstores overstock the shelves
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-08 | by ( Liam Proud | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +8 min

LONDON, Nov 8 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Private equity investors seem happier these days shopping for returns at specialty shops over supermarkets. U.S. private equity funds raised some $240 billion in the first nine months of 2023, according to research outfit PitchBook, 13% less than a year earlier. New York-based CD&R in August raised $26 billion for its 12th-generation private equity fund while Eurocentric CVC managed an even more eye-popping $29 billion in July. A better explanation, from the consultants who advise LPs on where to put their cash, is that private equity supermarkets may be cannibalising themselves. Until they can prove otherwise, the more scattered private equity superstores risk losing more ground to the specialists.

Persons: Clayton, Blackstone, Steve Schwarzman, Marc Rowan, don’t, Rowan, Rob Lucas, Blackstone’s, they’re, Lucas, Jeffrey Goldfarb, Thomas Shum Organizations: Reuters, Rice, CVC Capital Partners, Apollo Global Management, Blackstone Capital Partners IX, “, IX, CVC, Apollo, Blackstone, U.S, Thomson Locations: Dubilier, New York, Blackstone, Asia, Luxembourg, Europe, Americas

☆ For global banks, India could soon be worth it
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-07 | by ( Pranav Kiran | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

The hot new business class ticket within Asia is in fact, Hong Kong to Mumbai. Before the pandemic, more than half of the Asian top line of U.S. bulge bracket banks typically came from Greater China which includes the mainland, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan. Overall, IPO fees in India have risen from 1% of proceeds in 2017 closer to 2% in recent years, LSEG data shows. Hong Kong bankers are not going to relocate to India any time soon but while they wait out a slow and uncertain recovery in China activity, the trip to India looks increasingly worthwhile. Proceeds from initial public offerings in India amounted to $3.8 billion across 172 deals as of Oct. 24, according to LSEG data.

Persons: Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Banks, Mukesh Ambani, Bhavish, Ola, What’s, Gaurav Trehan, Blackstone, Amit Dixit, David Solomon, James Gorman, Citigroup's Jane Fraser, Noel Quinn, Bill Winters, Una Galani, Thomas Shum Organizations: Reuters, UBS, Insurance, JPMorgan, Citigroup, Reliance Industries, KKR, Bank of America, Global Financial, Investment, Hong Kong Monetary Authority, Offshore, Thomson Locations: BENGALURU, Hong Kong, China, Asia, Mumbai, Greater China, Macau, Taiwan, Beijing, Washington, India, United States, Offshore China

☆ High bond yields challenge “Pax Americana”
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-06 | by ( Hugo Dixon | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

There are also many reasons why “Pax Americana” – the period of U.S. dominance since World War Two - is under stress. The combination of high bond yields with a large fiscal deficit and rising sovereign debt is making it harder for politicians to govern the country. If anything, they may have a tougher job to make their fiscal maths add up than the United States because their growth prospects are not as rosy. What’s more, the near-record yield gap with the United States is bringing its own headaches by putting downward pressure on the yuan. These are consolations for the United States as it grapples with the geopolitical consequences of high interest rates.

Persons: Joe Biden, Kevin Lamarque, Joe Biden’s, doesn’t, Liz Truss, haven’t, Paul Tucker, “, Fitch, Peter Thal Larsen, Thomas Shum Organizations: Air Force, Joint Base Andrews, REUTERS, Reuters, Federal Reserve, International Monetary Fund, Bank of England, AAA, AA, United, Bank for International, Initiative, Thomson Locations: Lewiston , Maine, Joint Base Andrews , Maryland, U.S, Israel, Ukraine, China, United States, Europe, Asia, Russia, Britain, Washington, Republic

☆ Macquarie sends shareholders a sell signal
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Chief Executive of the Macquarie Group Shemara Wikramanayake, is seen in this handout picture taken in Sydney, Australia in 2022 released on May 5, 2023. Macquarie Group and Alice Boshell/Handout via REUTERS. Acquire Licensing RightsMELBOURNE, Nov 3 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Macquarie (MQG.AX) boss Shemara Wikramanayake knows how to time the market. The two moves seem designed to calm any shareholders nervous about the bank’s dip in fortunes. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

Persons: Alice Boshell, Shemara Wikramanayake, Macquarie, Antony Currie, Aston Martin, Una Galani, Thomas Shum Organizations: Macquarie Group, REUTERS, Acquire, Rights MELBOURNE, Reuters, X, Pfizer, Thomson Locations: Sydney, Australia, Handout, Macquarie

☆ Rich countries are stumbling into a debt trap
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-03 | by ( Felix Martin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

Unlike many corporations and households, the U.S. government did not lock in the low interest rates of the last decade by issuing long-dated debt, preferring instead to skew funding towards bills and short-term bonds. The second route out of the debt trap is to target the primary fiscal surplus, choosing a combination of spending cuts and tax hikes that will stabilise the public debt. That leaves the third route to debt sustainability – keeping real interest rates low. But in the short run, it allows a government to tame the debt ratio without fiscal austerity, and even if growth is sluggish. Governments are indeed stuck in a classic debt trap.

Persons: Joe Biden, Fumio Kishida, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Kacper, Everett Dirksen, you’re, Dirksen’s, Stanley Druckenmiller, Joe Biden’s, Peter Thal Larsen, Thomas Shum Organizations: Japan's, NATO, REUTERS, Reuters, Congressional, Office, International Monetary Fund, U.S, Treasury, Reuters Graphics Reuters Graphics, Medicaid, Federal, Bank of Japan, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, Vilnius, Lithuania, Illinois, U.S, Britain

☆ Breakingviews: SBF’s guilty verdict will help crypto break free
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-03 | by ( Anita Ramaswamy | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

REUTERS/Jane Rosenberg Acquire Licensing RightsNEW YORK, Nov 2 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Just over a year ago, Sam Bankman-Fried might have been counting his large stash of virtual coins. A Manhattan jury on Thursday convicted the FTX founder of seven counts related to crimes he committed at the helm of the now-bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange. With some $8 billion in customer funds stolen, his misdeeds will go down as one of the biggest financial frauds on record. To be sure, the speculative bubble in crypto would probably have deflated even without Bankman-Fried. The bankrupt exchange is also negotiating with three bidders to help it relaunch trading services, Bloomberg reported last month.

Persons: Lewis Kaplan, Sam Bankman, Fried, Jane Rosenberg, FTX, John J, Ray III, Nicolas Roos, Peter Thal Larsen, Thomas Shum Organizations: REUTERS, Reuters, Galaxy Digital, Three, BlackRock, Bloomberg, Thomson Locations: New York City, U.S, Manhattan

☆ Morgan Stanley’s new CEO inherits rich pickings
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-02 | by ( John Foley | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

A good place to start is outside Morgan Stanley’s home market. Morgan Stanley’s two last big acquisitions were chunky, at a combined $20 billion, but also filled niches. E*Trade, an online brokerage, brought millions of households and company employees that Morgan Stanley hadn’t previously served. Eaton Vance, a U.S. asset manager, peddles investment products that Morgan Stanley now funnels through sales teams in far-flung markets. CEO Jane Fraser shows no inclination to sell private banking, which for now sits within the group’s $756 billion global wealth management bucket.

Persons: Ted Pick’s, Morgan Stanley, Pick, James Gorman, Morgan, Gorman, Germany’s, Britain’s, Morgan Stanley’s, Morgan Stanley hadn’t, Eaton Vance, Smith Barney, watchdogs, Jane Fraser, It’s, Noel Quinn’s, Ping, Colm Kelleher, Ted Pick, Peter Thal Larsen, Thomas Shum Organizations: Reuters, Credit Suisse, McKinsey ., Morgan, Reuters Graphics Reuters, Infrastructure, Citi, U.S, HSBC, HK, UBS, Thomson Locations: U.S, American, Asia, Pacific, Japan, India, China, French, Europe, Switzerland, HK, Swiss

☆ Piyush Gupta: Asia’s most disrupted digital banker
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-02 | by ( Anshuman Daga | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Piyush Gupta, CEO of DBS Group (DBSM.SI) is often lauded as Asia’s top financier and has been tipped as a candidate to lead global rivals. Yet following repeated serious failures in its digital banking services, the Monetary Authority of Singapore has banned DBS from non-essential activities including M&A. It puts dividends at risk and will attract the eye of watchdogs overseas where the lender is busy expanding. On the back of record profits, Gupta earned $11.4 million last year, making him one of Asia’s highest remunerated bank CEOs. MAS will retain a multiplier of 1.8 times to DBS’ risk weighted assets for operational risk, an increase from a multiplier of 1.5 times MAS applied in February 2022.

Persons: Piyush Gupta, Ping, aren’t, OCBC’s, Peter Seah, Gupta, Breakingviews, he’s, Una Galani, Thomas Shum Organizations: Reuters, DBS Group, HK, HSBC, Monetary Authority of, DBS, MAS, Lakshmi, Bank, Monetary Authority of Singapore, Thomson Locations: SINGAPORE, Monetary Authority of Singapore, India, Taiwan, Singapore

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