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☆ The recession is already here for the rich
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-10 | by ( George Glover | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

But some of the country's wealthiest people are already feeling worse off. The Wall Street Journal coined the term "richsession" to describe an economic slump that hits the rich harder. Get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in business, from Wall Street to Silicon Valley — delivered daily. There is a different kind of economic slump on the horizon – a so-called "richsession". Wall Street Journal reporter Justin Lahart coined that term at the start of this year to refer to a downturn that disproportionately impacts some of the country's wealthiest people.

Persons: Justin Lahart, Lahart, Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg –, Goldman Sachs, it's Organizations: Street Journal, Service, Federal, Philadelphia Fed, Wall Street, of Labor Statistics, Atlanta Fed Locations: Wall, Silicon

July 6 (Reuters) - Global tech investor Insight Partners has raised $118 million in its second 20/20 Vision Capital fund that aims to invest in venture capital funds led by diverse managers, the firm told Reuters. This new fund expands a strategy Insights first started in 2020, after its own employees pledged $15 million of their personal capital to diverse early-stage fund managers. The environment is especially challenging for first-time fund managers. Funds including Ansa Capital Management, Hannah Grey Ventures, and Wischoff Ventures have already received backing from the Vision Capital II. Richard Wells, Managing Director at Insight Partners, said it's too early to measure fund I returns, as seed investment is a long-term game.

Persons: Dionne Chingkoe, Hannah Grey, Richard Wells, it's, Wells, Krystal Hu, Chizu Organizations: Global, Partners, Vision Capital, Reuters, Vision, Insight Partners, Investment Management Board, Pennsylvania Public School, New, The, Ansa Capital Management, Hannah Grey Ventures, Wischoff Ventures, ”, Thomson Locations: Massachusetts, New York, The U.S

☆ AI can pick top-performing private equity funds better than many institutional investors, Oxford study finds
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-04 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

AI can pick private equity firms to back better than many investors, per an Oxford study. Artificial intelligence can pick out top-performing private equity (PE) funds better than many institutional investors, according to research from the University of Oxford. Researchers trained an AI model to identify high-performing PE funds by reading 400 fundraising prospectuses and factoring in long sections that are often overlooked by investors, for a study by the Saïd Business School. Ludovic Phalippou, the lead researcher and a professor of financial economics at Oxford Saïd. But only a limited number of investors have the resources to take advantage of AI, so Phalippou expects to see consultants add it to their services.

Persons: Ludovic Phalippou, Oxford Saïd, Phalippou Organizations: University of Oxford, Saïd Business School, Oxford, Oxford Saïd, Coller Locations: Oxford

☆ Economy at critical juncture in inflation fight: central-bank body
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-26 | by ( Marc Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

"The global economy is at a critical juncture. Stern challenges must be addressed," Agustin Carstens, BIS general manager, said in the organisation's annual report published on Sunday. It is the first time that, across much of the world, a surge in inflation has co-existed with widespread financial vulnerabilities. The longer inflation remains elevated, the stronger and prolonged the required policy tightening, the BIS report said, warning that the possibility of further problems in the banking sector was now "material". Commenting further on the economic picture, Carstens, former head of Mexico's central bank, said the emphasis was now on policymakers to act.

Persons: Stern, Agustin Carstens, Claudio Borio, Borio, Marc Jones, Emelia Sihtole Organizations: BIS, LONDON, Bank for International Settlements, Reuters, Reuters Graphics Reuters, Silicon Valley Bank, Credit Suisse, Bank of America, U.S . Federal Reserve, European Central Bank, Thomson Locations: Britain, Norway, Silicon

☆ Central bank body BIS warns world economy at critical juncture in inflation fight
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-26 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

The world's central bank umbrella body, the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), called for more interest rate hikes in its 2023 annual report, warning the world economy was now at a crucial point as countries struggle to rein in inflation. Aaron Chown - Pa Images | Pa Images | Getty ImagesThe world's central bank umbrella body, the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), called on Sunday for more interest rate hikes, warning the world economy was now at a crucial point as countries struggle to rein in inflation. If interest rates get to mid-1990s levels the overall debt service burden for top economies would, all else being equal, be the highest in history, Borio said. Banking crisesThe Swiss-based BIS held its annual meeting in recent days, where top central bankers discussed the turbulent last few months. Commenting further on the economic picture, Carstens, former head of Mexico's central bank, said the emphasis was now on policymakers to act.

Persons: Aaron Chown, Stern, Agustin Carstens, Claudio Borio, Borio Organizations: Bank for International Settlements, BIS, Reuters, Silicon Valley Bank, Credit Suisse Locations: Britain, Norway, Silicon

☆ World economy at critical juncture in inflation fight, central-bank body warns
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-25 | by ( Marc Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Stern challenges must be addressed," Agustin Carstens, BIS general manager, said in the organisation's annual report published on Sunday. It is the first time that, across much of the world, a surge in inflation has co-existed with widespread financial vulnerabilities. The longer inflation remains elevated, the stronger and prolonged the required policy tightening, the BIS report said, warning that the possibility of further problems in the banking sector was now "material". "Very high debt levels, a remarkable global inflation surge, and the strong pandemic-era increase in house prices check all these boxes," the BIS said. Commenting further on the economic picture, Carstens, former head of Mexico's central bank, said the emphasis was now on policymakers to act.

☆ Bitcoin gets a sliver of optimism to cap an otherwise dismal week for crypto
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-17 | by ( Tanaya Macheel | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Coin Metrics measures a week in crypto, which trades 24 hours a day, from the 4:00 p.m. A moment of relief Bitcoin climbed about 4% Friday, but the rest of the week wasn't as sunny. Price action was tepid to start the week and on Wednesday bitcoin briefly fell to a March low. … It's a doubting Thomas market for the next buyer of bitcoin right now. Miner profitability Bitcoin's recent declines may not be entirely on macro and regulatory headwinds, said Yuya Hasegawa, crypto market analyst at Japanese bitcoin exchange Bitbank.

Persons: Bitcoin, Price, Gustavo Schwenkler, it's, bitcoin, Mark Connors, we've, Thomas, Jay Powell, Connors, Yuya Hasegawa, Hasegawa Organizations: BlackRock, SEC, Leavey School of Business, Santa Clara University, Federal, Coinbase

☆ Private equity hurtles towards hard Asia reset
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-07 | by ( Una Galani | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

SINGAPORE, June 7 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Sequoia’s decision to carve out its China business formalises a push for a hard reset in Asia that private equity firms have until now largely been grappling with behind the scenes. These country-agnostic funds accounted for just over half the money raised in 2022 in the region, a 22-year high. Granted, these South and Southeast Asia markets are small at present compared to China; that’s why more firms are seeking bigger-ticket buyouts in Australia and Japan. That will eventually weigh on performance in the region, which for top-quartile Asia funds last year was a very respectable median 25% net internal rate of return, per Preqin. Private equity’s cooling relationship with China, though, is likely to hit hard for most.

Persons: Neil Shen, Shailendra Singh, Singh, Zhang Lei, There’s, Shen, Antony Currie, Katrina Hamlin Organizations: Reuters, Bain & Co, Bain Capital, KKR, XV Partners, Sequoia, Twitter, NEWS Venture, Sequoia Capital, Thomson Locations: SINGAPORE, China, Asia, Republic, Sequoia, India, Southeast Asia, Greater China, Malaysia, Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, Hillhouse, Singapore, Australia, Japan, U.S

☆ The intensity of methane emissions from oil and gas sector has declined, study finds
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-23 | by ( Emma Newburger | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The primary component of natural gas is methane, which is odorless when it comes directly out of the gas well. In addition to methane, natural gas typically contains other hydrocarbons such as ethane, propane, butane, and pentanes. The report, which assessed the production-based emissions of more than 300 U.S. producers, found that the methane emissions intensity of natural gas production and the greenhouse gas emissions intensity of oil and gas production vary dramatically across companies. Natural gas producers in the highest quartile of methane emissions intensity have an average emissions intensity that's nearly 26 times higher than producers in the lowest quartile, the study found. And oil and gas producers in the highest quartile of greenhouse gas emissions intensity have an average emissions intensity that is more than 13 times higher than producers in the lowest quartile.

☆ BNY Mellon launches new ETF focused on women's opportunities
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Michelle Fox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Investing in women's empowerment and opportunities is something portfolio managers Julianne McHugh and Miki Behr have talked about doing for years. BNY Mellon Women's Opportunities ETF , the exchange-traded fund they manage, launched Wednesday, trading under the ticker BKWO. Investing for financial return while promoting gender diversity, known as gender lens or gender equity investing, isn't new. Assets in U.S. gender equity funds have doubled over the last three years, to $1.3 billion, as of the end of February, Morningstar found. Those funds represent less than 0.01% of total equity fund assets in the United States, according to the firm.

Solari wasn't the only American to veer wildly between frugality and all-out spending sprees during the pandemic. In particular, younger people — Gen Z and millennials — have seen the early parts of their careers and critical years of their financial lives defined by the shifting sands of the pandemic economy. The strange pandemic-savings paradoxThe pandemic recession did not actually mean people had no money. The Fed found that the top quartile of earners added nearly $1.5 trillion to their savings through spending reductions, even as the pandemic consumed millennials and Gen Z's savings. If the mantra of the pandemic recession was giving everyday Americans money, the reaction is now to yank that back.

☆ Distress in Office Market Spreads to High-End Buildings
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( Konrad Putzier | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Photo: Shelby Knowles for The Wall Street JournalPimco recently defaulted on a mortgage backed by a portfolio of office buildings that included Twitter’s headquarters in San Francisco. Defaults and vacancies are on the rise at high-end office buildings, in the latest sign that remote work and rising interest rates are spreading pain to more corners of the commercial real-estate market. For much of the pandemic, buildings in central locations that feature modern amenities fared better than their less-pricey peers. Some even were able to increase rents while older, cheaper buildings saw surging vacancy rates and plummeting values. Now, these so-called class-A properties, whose rents generally fall into a city’s top quartile, are increasingly coming under pressure.

☆ Piper Sandler did a deep analysis of banks and says these are the ones to buy on the dip
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Sarah Min | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The repercussions from the ongoing banking crisis will take some time to play out, but Piper Sandler has names for investors to start sorting through among the wreckage. Even so, banks are dealing with tightening lending standards and rising costs that will continue to weigh on the sector. Still, some banks with strong deposit and liquidity characteristics can help investors find safe harbor, according to Piper Sandler. Here are three overweight-rated, mid-cap bank stocks that Piper Sandler highlighted: The analysts named SouthState Corporation to their list, saying they have confidence in the bank's ability to outperform peers because of its "strong low-cost, core deposit base." First Interstate BancSystem was named to the list because of its lower cost deposit base, its relatively insulated location, and its strong dividend yield.

☆ From groceries to clothes, inflation-weary Americans flock to cheaper products online
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( Matt Egan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Across 11 categories of e-commerce, high-priced goods have lost meaningful market share to low-cost ones, according to Adobe. As of the end of February this year, these pricier products make up just 7% of the market, according to Adobe. In online groceries, the most expensive tier of products has gone from 24.5% of the market in January 2019 to 9% now. The cheapest tier of online groceries has grown in market share by 13 percentage points to nearly half the market, Adobe said. The most expensive tier of online toys has gone from 25% of the market four years ago to 13% today.

☆ Want to invest in companies that empower women? Here's what you need to know
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( Michelle Fox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

Known as gender lens or gender equity investing, the idea is to invest for financial return, while promoting gender diversity. Yet those funds represent less than 0.01% of total equity fund assets in the United States, according to the firm. Her women CEO and CFO clients were getting tremendous results, she said. In January, the asset management firm launched the Hypatia Women CEO exchange-traded fund (WCEO). Women in leadership matters, but we need a more robust scorecard to assess gender equity.

☆ UniCredit shareholders urged to reject CEO Orcel's pay rise
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( Valentina Za | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/IllustrationMILAN, March 13 (Reuters) - Leading governance adviser Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) on Monday recommended shareholders at UniCredit (CRDI.MI) reject a proposed new pay package for CEO Andrea Orcel as well as the bank's new incentive scheme. After recommending UniCredit shareholders vote against Orcel's pay package when he first joined in 2021, ISS last year noted his package, especially a 15 million euro ($16.1 million) severance payment, remained of concern, stopping short of calling for a rejection. "The 30% fixed pay raise in favour of the CEO and the newly introduced discount on the conversion price of equity awards could lead to an excessive increase in the CEO total pay," it added. "With the 30% increase, Orcel's fixed remuneration will be above the top quartile and 55% higher than the median ... When looking at ISS-only selected peers, Orcel will remain the CEO with the highest pay opportunity."

☆ Where Paul Wick, seasoned tech stock investor, is raising his bets now
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-12 | by ( Sarah Min | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

So when a position opened up at the Seligman Communications and Information fund, the firm's then-chief investment officer asked Wick to take it over. Today, the Columbia Seligman Technology and Information fund (CCIZX) that Wick began running on New Year's Day in 1990, has $8.5 billion in assets under management. "It's really hard to guess how will the technology industry change in five years. By now, Wick has relationships going back decades in the tech industry. As of January, the Technology and Information fund held 2.96% of its assets in Bloom, up from 2.36% in October.

☆ JPMorgan taps manager with solid track record to lead its first 'semi-transparent' ETF
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Jesse Pound | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The bank launches the JPMorgan Active Small Cap Value ETF (JPSV) on Wednesday with a goal to outperform the Russell 2000 index of small cap companies. Playford co-manages two other mutual funds — the JPMorgan Small Cap Blend Fund and the JPMorgan Mid Cap Value Fund — both of which sport four-star, silver ratings from Morningstar. Playford's small cap fund, for example, was in the top quartile of small cap growth funds in 2022, according to Morningstar. The new JPSV fund, with an expense ratio of 0.74%, will operate as a semi-transparent ETF. "Active small cap value can be a compelling addition to investor portfolios.

☆ The chief investment strategist at a $540 billion firm explains why the stock market may have already bottomed for the year — and why he sees opportunity in the market's most beaten-down names
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Lisa Kailai Han | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Wes Crill believes the stock market may have already bottomed, according to historical precedence. In the long term, he's bullish on value stocks once again taking the reigns as market leaders. "In fact, the average return for value stocks was a little bit higher in periods where the overall stock market was positive." Across Wall Street, Crill's not the only one with a longer-term overweight towards value stocks. Instead, he says investors should stick to what history dictates works best: value stocks over a long time horizon.

☆ A recession could be 'deeper than expected' this year, says analyst—here's what it means for your money
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-18 | by ( Ryan Ermey | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Raheel Siddiqui, senior research analyst at Neuberger Berman, told CNBC Make It a recession in 2023 "will be more severe than expected." The labor market is strong, too, with a tiny unemployment rate of 3.4%. "In a plain-vanilla recession, earnings go down 20%. And when economic downturns occur at the same time as deflation, you can expect a larger-than-normal drop in earnings, Siddiqui said. The bottom quartile is entering a recession," Siddiqui said.

☆ Buy these 6 cheap stocks now to take advantage of a perfect setup for contrarian investors, according to a leading international fund manager
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( James Faris | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Contrarian fund manager Krishna Mohanraj is bullish on international stocks despite recession fears. That contrarian approach has worked wonders for Mohanraj's Diamond Hill International Fund (DHIAX) recently. Over the last three months, Mohanraj's fund is up about 20% amid a long-awaited comeback for international stocks. 2 tailwinds that will send global stocks soaringMohanraj believes that foreign stocks' recent momentum will continue, even though the global economy is flirting with a recession. In fact, the fund manager described the current environment for international stocks as an "active investor heaven."

☆ Cheap quality stocks offer a smoother ride, according to Trivariate Research
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( Sarah Min | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

As investors worry about greater market volatility looming in 2023, Trivariate Research offers up some cheap, quality stocks that can be used to play defense. Yet investors struggle to find attractive stocks that are traditionally defensive, according to Trivariate Research. One way investors can find some attractive defensive names would be to look for cheap, quality stocks with low volatility. Pfizer is a defensive stock that is compellingly valued, according to the screen. Meanwhile, Check Point Software Technologies also looks like cheap quality, and was the only technology stock that met Trivariate's criteria, with a 0.63 beta.

A trade group for venture-capital employees has collected salaries data for the industry. The data sheds light on how much people are getting paid across talent, investor relations, and PR. But what few know is that, behind the scenes, many roles at VC firms play a hand in a startup's growth journey. In recent years, the vital function of platform employees has led firms to grow those teams, and pay them handsomely. The report, now in its sixth year, shares data from 601 survey respondents, including 351 members located in the US.

☆ Bankers are expecting a terrible bonus season. A survey says 72% will consider quitting if theirs gets cut.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-28 | by ( Britney Nguyen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A survey of 1,096 bankers saw 72% of respondents say they will consider resigning if their bonus is cut. "Most people think it's the worst year since the financial crisis," Alan Johnson, managing director of Johnson Associates, previously told Insider. "People are worried about a lot of departures, and the kind of departures of the first-quartile people," a person close to the situation previously told Insider. Other workers in M&A and tech could also face layoffs and slowdowns in hiring, Alan Johnson previously told Insider. On the other end, investment bank advisors will likely have their bonuses cut by 15% to 20%.

☆ Goldman insiders are up in arms over David Solomon's plan to slash bonuses. They fear widescale departures and point to the CEO's failed foray into consumer banking.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( Dakin Campbell | Emmalyse Brownstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

Some are pointing the finger at CEO David Solomon and his spending on the consumer banking business. "Out of control" spendingGoldman insiders are also still fuming over spending on Goldman's consumer business, and there are fears this resentment could escalate with next month's earnings. The consumer bank includes Marcus, a digital banking platform that offers high-yield savings accounts, and the Apple credit card. It was key to Solomon's plan to diversify the company away from its core investment banking business. Goldman pulled back on its consumer banking ambitions earlier this year amid questions about how much cash was being burned on the strategy, led by Stephanie Cohen.

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