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☆ Conservators restore 17th-century portrait of noblewoman to remove cosmetic touch-ups
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-24 | by ( Lianne Kolirin | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

English Heritage, an organization that manages more than 400 historic buildings, monuments and sites in England, has discovered that a portrait dating back almost four centuries was later altered to “improve” the subject’s appearance. The portrait before the added changes were removed by the conservation team English HeritageConservators have now revealed the true face of noblewoman Diana Cecil, after spending hours removing changes to her features. Cecil (1596–1654), was the great-granddaughter of William Cecil, Lord Burghley, one of Elizabeth I’s closest friends and advisers. The restored version of the portrait will go on display in London from November 30. Christopher Ison//English HeritageAccording to English Heritage, Cecil was “one of the great beauties of the age” but the full-length painting was found to have undergone some cosmetic alterations since it was painted in the 17th century.

Persons: London CNN —, Diana Cecil, Cecil, William Cecil, Lord Burghley, Elizabeth I’s, Christopher Ison, “, Conservators, Cornelius Johnson, Alice Tate, sweeten, Diana, Thomas Bruce, 1st Earl of Elgin Organizations: London CNN, English Heritage, Kenwood House, Heritage, Harte Locations: England, London

☆ Exclusive: Bayer holds call with bond investors after raft of bad news
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-22 | by ( Shankar Ramakrishnan | Thomson Reuters | Shankar Ramakrishnan Has Nearly Years Of Financial Journalism Experience In Writing | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The bad news prompted some bond investors to question whether Bayer should sweeten the terms of the deal or outright pull it, one of the sources said. The drug-to-pesticides group priced the investment grade bond on Thursday last week, with the deal closing on Tuesday. Bayer priced bonds with maturities between three to 30 years. It was the 10th largest investment grade bond deal by an industrial company this year and attracted more than $22 billion in orders, according to Informa Global Markets. The events were "not enough to trigger a material adverse change clause in bond documents for investors to ask to be paid back," said CreditSights' Brady.

Persons: Wolfgang Rattay, Bayer, Andrew Brady, CreditSights, JP Morgan, Wells, Brady, Shankar Ramakrishnan, Ludwig Burger, Mike Erman, Paritosh Bansal, Marguerita Choy Organizations: Bayer AG, REUTERS, Bayer, Nomura Holdings, Informa Global Markets, Citigroup, Nikko Securities America, RIC, Thomson Locations: Leverkusen, Germany, Seattle

☆ Trump waited until after he left office to disclose trademarks he owns in China and Russia
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-03 | by ( Jacob Shamsian | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Donald Trump disclosed that he owns hundreds of foreign trademarks in his ethics filings this year. Trump owns 114 trademarks in China — more than any other country by far, including the US. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)The final form Trump submitted during his presidency, dated January 15, 2021, disclosed Trump's financial interests in numerous overseas companies. The only indication of trademark holdings noted is his ownership of a company called "CHINA TRADEMARK LLC." AdvertisementAdvertisementIn his following OGE Form 278e form, filed on April 2023, as a presidential candidate, Trump disclosed a long list of foreign trademarks.

Persons: Donald Trump, Trump, —, Donald, Forbes, Alex Brandon, Joe Biden, Richard Painter, George W, Bush, Painter, who's, Joe Raedle, Ivanka Trump Organizations: Service, Hartsfield, Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Trump, Drinks Israel, United Arab Emirates, LLCs, The New York Times, Trump Tower, Times, Associated Press, Saudi Sovereign Wealth Fund Locations: China, Russia, Venezuela, Iran, Cuba, Belarus, United States, CHINA, United Kingdom, Ukraine, El Salvador, Mexico, France, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Albania, sweeten, Saudi

☆ The NBA is shooting for a new media rights deal worth up to $60 billion, nearly triple its previous pact, that will pay teams and players millions more
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-27 | by ( James Faris | Margaret Fleming | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

Media analysts widely expect the league to select at least three distributors for its next media rights deal after the current setup expires in 2025. Comcast's NBCUniversal could be a frontrunner for a spot in the NBA's new media deal alongside Amazon, Nispel said. NBA players could be poised to earn sky-high paydaysThe NBA's last media deal — the $24 billion contract it struck in 2014 — was nearly triple the value of its previous pact. The pressure is now on the NBA to deliver a media deal that satisfies teams, athletes, and fans. Still, Macquarie media analyst Tim Nollen is optimistic about the size of the NBA's next media rights deal.

Persons: Jessica Reif Ehrlich, disruptors, Brandon Nispel, Nispel, —, Shirin Malkani, who's, Perkins, Leron Rogers, that's, Mark Patricof, Tim Nollen, Nollen, Reif Ehrlich, Ehrlich Organizations: NBA, Media, ESPN, Warner Bros, TNT, Disney, Apple, NBC, Comcast, Wall Street, Bank of America, NFL, MLB, NHL, KeyBanc Capital, Amazon, Flagship, ABC, Prime, Industry, Patricof, Macquarie, Diamond Sports

“The border has never been a money issue,” said Rep. Dan Crenshaw, R-Texas. It also suggests $1.4 billion to add 375 immigration judges and their teams in addition to money for 1,300 new border patrol agents. “But it’s got to be designed to secure the border, not to facilitate travel through the border,” he said. “No more money should be spent simply to facilitate current border policy.”It's unclear if compromise is possible on the issue. The border is not about money; there’s some money that needs to be spent on certain things, but it is way more about policy.

Persons: Joe Biden, It's, ”, Dan Crenshaw, Biden, “, Colleen Putzel, there's, Eric Adams, Alex Gough, J.B . Pritzker, Maura Healey, Kevin McCarthy, Sen, Kevin Cramer, he’d, it’s, Texas Republican Sen, John Cornyn, Chris Murphy, ” Murphy, ” Crenshaw, Mary Clare Jalonick, Kevin Freking, Claire Savage, Mike Casey, Patrick Whittle, Lisa Rathke, Holly Ramer Organizations: WASHINGTON, U.S, White, Democratic, Homeland Security, Migration Policy Institute, Central America, New York, ”, O’Hare, Illinois Gov, GOP, Texas Republican, Connecticut Democrat, Department of Homeland Security, Associated Press Locations: Ukraine, Mexico, Israel, Texas, U.S, South, Central, York City, New, implore, New York City, Chicago, ” Massachusetts, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Washington, Boston, Portland , Maine, Montpelier , Vt, Concord, N.H

☆ UAW Leader Cites Progress at Bargaining Table, Forgoes More Walkouts
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-20 | by ( Ryan Felton | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

Ford Motor Executive Chairman Bill Ford said the company can’t afford more UAW strikes. “It will have a major impact on the American economy and devastate local communities,” he said. Newsletter Sign-up What’s News Catch up on the headlines, understand the news and make better decisions, free in your inbox daily. Preview SubscribeUAW President Shawn Fain said during a livestream to members Friday that General Motors , Ford Motor and Chrysler-parent Stellantis have each offered 23% wage increases for factory workers over more than four years. That would amount to record contracts for those employees, but the companies still have room to sweeten their offers, he said.

Persons: Bill Ford, ”, Carlos Osorio, Shawn Fain Organizations: Ford Motor, UAW, Associated Press, United Auto Workers, Motors, Chrysler

☆ Landlords are doing whatever it takes to fill their office buildings. See 10 ways to score an amazing deal on an office right now.
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-19 | by ( Alex Nicoll | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

If you're not shopping for a new office right now, you might be missing out. With vacancies rising, many office landlords are doing whatever it takes to get leases signed, including dropping rents. Risa Letowsky, the co-chair of Adler & Stachenfeld LLP leasing practice group, told Insider that flexibility is the difference between successful and struggling landlords right now. See below for a list of the 10 top perks that office landlords are offering. Flexible lease lengthsThe traditional office lease is eight to ten years.

Persons: Risa Letowsky, aren't, Letowsky, Mike Watts, Andrew Lustgarten, Michael T, Cohen, Franklin Wallach, Carlos Avila Gonzalez, they're, Lustgarten, Watts, Matt Petit, Michael Lirtzman, Lirtzman Organizations: Adler, Stachenfeld, it's, Colliers, San Francisco, Getty, Silverstein Locations: Los Angeles, New York City, San Francisco , California, LA, Chicago

Developers, financial advisers and bondholders said that could make debt restructuring terms much worse than expected earlier. DEFAULTING DEVELOPERSThe property sector accounts for roughly a quarter of the world's second-largest economy. That could trigger off one of the world's biggest debt restructuring exercises. However, a turnaround (in the property sector) may need more," said Chuanyi Zhou, Asia corporate analyst at Columbia Threadneedle Investments, which holds Sunac's bonds. Chinese policymakers rolled out a range of support measures in late August and early September to revive the property sector.

Persons: Shimao, Chuanyi Zhou, Yuzhou, Edward Al, Clare Jim, Xie Yu, Davide Barbuscia, Sumeet Chatterjee, Kim Coghill Organizations: HONG KONG, JPMorgan, HK, Shimao, CIFI Holdings, Columbia Threadneedle Investments, Developers, Reuters, Kaisa, Columbia, China Index Academy, Thomson Locations: HONG, China, Asia, Hong Kong, New York

Private credit players like HPS Investment Partners and Blue Owl Capital (OWL.N) have a workaround, but it could prompt a painful hangover. Cashed-up private credit funds offered sums previously unseen outside of traditional bank financing on riskier deals. Private credit assets swelled 460% to over $1.4 trillion between 2010 and the end of 2022, Preqin says. Reuters GraphicsThe attraction of “mezz” and similar exotic lending isn’t just that it helps private credit source new deals. In 2021, that dynamic meant private loans briefly became cheaper than liquid, tradable loans – flying in the face of financial orthodoxy.

Persons: –, Zendesk, Preqin, LSEG, HPS, Goldman, Blackstone, Angelo Gordon, dealmaking, George Hay, Oliver Taslic Organizations: Reuters, HPS Investment Partners, Owl, Blackstone, Apollo, Treasury, Private, Management, Partners, Reuters Graphics Reuters, Sabre, Companies, Wolf, ADC Therapeutics, Equity, Thomson Locations: EBITDA

"I'm very, very lucky because I wouldn't have had the courage to go and do that acquisition, but I give all the credit in the world to Dave Clark," Petersen said. "There's a perfect complement of skill sets," Petersen told Forbes in June 2022. Petersen told Clark he should engage with Shopify's team, according to a person with direct knowledge of the negotiations. Clark, Petersen and Wagers met in Texas in mid-August to fine-tune the forecasts. Flexport told CNBC that an employee's politics are not relevant in personnel decisions.

Persons: Dave Clark, Ryan Petersen, he'd, Petersen, Clark, excoriated Clark, we've, Clark wasn't, Jeff Bezos, It's, Flexport, Clark overspent, Flexport's, He'd, Sanne Manders, Dave, Shopify, Tobias Lutke, Lutke, Shopify's, glanced, didn't, Fund's Trae Stephens, Michael Ronen, SoftBank, Andreessen Horowitz, Bob Swan, Samyukta Lakshmi, Kenny, Stuart Leung, pare, Leung, —, Lindsey Wasson, Clark's, Stephens, Peter Thiel, Trump's, Petersen's, Sen, Joe Manchin, Chris Ferro, Ferro, Parisa Sadrzadeh, couldn't, Amazon, Sadrzadeh, Burak Yolga, Yolga, Nelly Organizations: North, Amazon, Twitter, CNBC, UPS, FedEx, Milken Institute Global Conference, Bloomberg, Getty, Forbes, Deliverr, Shopify's, Anduril Industries, Intel, Intel Corp, U.S ., Clark, Republican, Founders Fund, Democratic, Street Journal, Flexport Locations: Phoenix, Silicon, Clark, Beverly Hills , California, U.S, Flexport, Deliverr, Miami, Flexport's Bellevue , Washington, Bengaluru, India, Flexport's, Asia, U.S . West Coast, Texas, Ohio, Arizona, Thiel's, West Virginia, Seattle, integrations

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman receives U.S. President Joe Biden at Al Salman Palace upon his arrival in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, July 15, 2022. Washington could also sweeten any deal by designating Saudi Arabia a Major Non-NATO Ally, a status already given to Israel, the U.S. source said. "Saudi Arabia supports a peace plan for the Palestinians, but this time it wanted something for Saudi Arabia, not just for the Palestinians." SEEKING ISRAELI COMMITMENTSIsrael's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has hailed the possibility of a "historic" peace with Saudi Arabia, the heartland of Islam. Yet, even if the U.S, Israel and Saudi Arabia agree, winning support from lawmakers in the U.S. Congress remains a challenge.

Persons: Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Joe Biden, NATO Ally, Biden, Washington, Benjamin Netanyahu, Netanyahu, Mahmoud Abbas, Jamal Khashoggi, China, Samia Nakhoul, James Mackenzie, Dan Williams, Ali Sawafta, Aziz El Yaacouby, Steve Holland, Matt Spetalnick, Humeyra Pamuk, Patricia Zengerle, Edmund Blair Organizations: Al, Saudi Royal Court, REUTERS Acquire, Defence, NATO, Saudi, U.S, U.S . Navy Fifth, Saudi Arabia, U.S . State Department, U.S . Atomic Energy, Israel's, MbS, Fox, Israel, West Bank, Palestinian Authority, West, Biden's Democratic Party, Washington Post, Congress, Thomson Locations: Saudi, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Bandar, Bahrain, Washington, Israel, United States, U.S, Riyadh, Iran, Tehran, Japan, Egypt, West Bank, East Jerusalem, Yemen, Beijing, Dubai, Jerusalmen

☆ Saudi’s sweetened oil lollipop betrays its nerves
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Sept 6 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman thinks he needs to sweeten his oil lollipop. The Saudi energy minister has announced that the world’s top oil exporter will extend its 1 million barrels a day production cuts for another three months until the end of this year. On the surface, global trends are helpful for oil, reducing the need for extended OPEC+ cuts. Besides uncertainties over the effectiveness of China’s latest property measures, one surprise has been the strength of Iranian supplies, which are set to rise by 1 million barrels this year to 3.5 million barrels per day by late September. Moreover, Washington may not sit idly by if higher oil prices sabotage the Federal Reserve’s inflation target and damage the economy.

Persons: Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, Brent, Yawen Chen, Hong Kong, Neil Unmack, Streisand Neto Organizations: Reuters, Organization of, Petroleum, X, Hong, Thomson Locations: Saudi, Russia, U.S, China, Washington

This would boost the oil giant's non-binding bid to about 11.6 billion euros ($12.63 billion), the people said. The indication of a raised offer is, however, not in writing, the people cautioned, adding that Covestro will take time to consider any next steps. ADNOC last raised its informal offer to 57 euros per share in July. Covestro shares jumped about 4.2% in a volume spike after Bloomberg News first reported that ADNOC was prepared to sweeten its offer. Earlier in August, Covestro reported a 21% fall in revenues to 3.7 billion euros in the second quarter.

Persons: Toru Hanai, ADNOC, Covestro, Austria's, Emma, Victoria Farr, Maha El Dahan, Yousef Saba, Tomasz Janowski Organizations: REUTERS, Abu Dhabi National Oil Co, Reuters, Bloomberg News, Thomson Locations: Gastech, Chiba, Japan, FRANKFURT, DUBAI, Abu Dhabi, Frankfurt, Maha, Dubai

My mortgage broker demystified the homebuying process and guided me step by step. Here's how my mortgage broker and I worked out a plan to make my dreams of homeownership a reality and how I'm preparing for mortgage renewal in the not-too-distant future. See Insider's picks for the best mortgage lenders »My mortgage broker ran the numbers for different scenariosI spoke with a few mortgage brokers before deciding to work with the brilliant Lisa Okun. Compare today's 30-year mortgage rates »I know renegotiating my mortgage will be complexI like to know how much I'm going to need to spend. Because the interest rates in Canada were so low at the time (around 2.5%), I felt good about locking into that rate.

Persons: Lisa Okun, Lisa, They've Organizations: Service Locations: Wall, Silicon, Ontario, Canada

☆ Target is rolling out Starbucks curbside pickup across the country as it looks for sales jolt
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-09 | by ( Melissa Repko | In Melissa-Repko | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Target is looking to jolt sales by adding Starbucks drinks and food to its curbside pickup service at stores across the country. The retailer began testing the Starbucks curbside pickup service at some stores in the fall. Target's curbside pickup service, Drive Up, helped fuel the company's e-commerce and sales growth during the Covid-19 pandemic. Yet, according to Target, curbside pickup has led to more business. That explains why Target has added other features and more items to curbside pickup, including beer and wine.

Persons: curbside, Target, Howard Schultz, — CNBC's Amelia Lucas Organizations: Target, Starbucks

☆ This bank just hiked the rate on its 1-year CD to 5.5%
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-07 | by ( Darla Mercado | Cfp | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

"We expect more rate action in the weeks ahead," wrote Michael Kaye, analyst at Wells Fargo in a Friday report on deposit trends. Marcus and Synchrony each hiked yields by 5 basis points to 4.4% and 4.35%, respectively. However, customers who've already snapped up a CD are effectively locked into that rate for that stated term. That's different from a high-yield savings account, wherein the bank can change the rate at any time. "Even though the market doesn't expect any more rate hikes this cycle, we expect deposit costs to keep rising until the Fed cuts rates," she said.

Persons: Sallie Mae, Marcus, Goldman Sachs, Michael Kaye, Synchrony, Morgan Stanley, Betsy Graseck, — CNBC's Michael Bloom Organizations: Federal Reserve, Synchrony, Analysts, Wells, Fed

☆ The Fed’s expected rate hike is about to sweeten yields on these investments
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-26 | by ( Darla Mercado | Cfp | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

The Federal Reserve is widely expected to boost interest rates by another quarter percentage point Wednesday afternoon – and that's terrific news for fixed income investors hoping to grab a little more yield. Since March 2022, the central bank has raised rates 10 times – with July's expected hike marking the 11 th increase – to cool inflation. Consider that during the week of March 11, 2022, the rate on the 2-year Treasury note was 1.75%, according to Refinitiv. Investors who wish to squeeze a little more interest income from their cash holdings have opted for Treasury bills, with the 6-month bill yielding 5.5%. By buying multiple notes of different maturities, investors can "ladder" these Treasurys and reinvest the proceeds from maturing bonds into longer-dated issues.

Persons: Greg McBride, maturities, tradeoffs, McBride, SLM —, Sallie Mae —, Nick Wells Organizations: Federal Reserve, Investors, Treasury, Bank of Locations: Bank of Indiana, Treasurys

☆ Microsoft and Activision agree to extend $69 billion deal deadline in wait for UK approval
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-19 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Microsoft and Activision Blizzard on Wednesday agreed to extend the deadline for their merger agreement until Oct. 18, Activision said in a statement Wednesday. If Microsoft had not extended the deal deadline, the company could have been on the hook for a $3 billion breakup fee to Activision Blizzard. By extending the period for the companies to close their transaction, Microsoft and Activision are giving themselves more time to satisfy regulators' concerns and to get it over the line. By Aug. 29, the breakup fee will be increased to $3.5 billion if the transaction is terminated by the parties, while by Sept. 15, the potential breakup fee will rise to $4.5 billion. The Activision board also agreed a 99 cents per share dividend to sweeten the deal for investors.

Organizations: Microsoft, Activision Blizzard, Activision Locations: U.S

☆ Biden’s Latest Student Loan Forgiveness Scheme
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-15 | by ( The Editorial Board | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

For the first time since 1960, the TV and movie unions representing actors and writers are on strike over issues including better pay on streaming platforms like Netflix, Disney+ and Amazon Prime. Images: Zuma Press/AP/Getty Images/Reuters Composite: Mark KellyPresident Biden is determined to make student loans for college a new entitlement even after the Supreme Court struck down his $430 billion cancellation. The Education Department on Friday wrote off another $39 billion in debt. And this is only a down-payment on the President’s bigger plan to sweeten Obama -era repayment plans. Call it debt cancellation on the installment plan.

Persons: Mark Kelly President Biden, sweeten Obama Organizations: Netflix, Disney, Amazon Prime, Zuma Press, Getty, Education Department

That estimate from Michigan-based Anderson Economic Group (AEG) includes UPS customer losses of $4 billion and lost direct wages of more than $1 billion. A 15-day UPS strike in 1997 disrupted the supply of goods, cost the world's biggest parcel delivery firm $850 million and sent some customers to rivals like FedEx (FDX.N). Roughly 340,000 union-represented UPS workers handle about a quarter of U.S. parcel deliveries and serve virtually every city and town in the nation. A strike could delay millions of daily deliveries, including Amazon.com (AMZN.O) orders, electronic components and lifesaving prescription drugs, shipping experts warned. In fiscal 2019, GM's fourth-quarter profit took a $3.6 billion hit from a 40-day UAW strike that shut down its profitable U.S. operations.

Persons: Patrick Anderson, Anderson, GM's, Bruce Chan, Chan, Lisa Baertlein, Priyamvada, Pooja Desai, Jonathan Oatis, David Gregorio Our Organizations: United Parcel Service, Anderson Economic Group, AEG, UPS, FedEx, stoke, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Teamsters, Consumers, UAW, Teamster, Thomson Locations: U.S, Michigan, Los Angeles, Bengaluru

From a fundamental perspective, the production cuts announced by Saudi Arabia and Russia are expected to remove excess barrels from the market. Since most fund positions are concentrated in nearby months, where liquidity and volatility are greatest, the wave of buying has accelerated the return to a backwardation structure. The exceptionally low level of hedge fund positions in crude means there is plenty of scope for position-building to anticipate, accelerate and amplify the move. Related columns:- Oil investors less bearish after Saudi output cut extended (July 10, 2023)- Is oil market’s glass half full or half empty? (June 29, 2023)- Frustrated oil bulls made to wait for price recovery (June 22, 2023)- Saudi Arabia’s 'lollipop' has yet to sweeten oil prices (June 6, 2023)John Kemp is a Reuters market analyst.

Persons: Brent, WTI, John Kemp, Paul Simao Organizations: Thomson, Reuters Locations: Saudi Arabia, Russia, backwardation, North America, Europe, China, Brent, Saudi

Commercial inventories of crude oil and refined products in the OECD advanced economies were around 2,842 million barrels at the end of May, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). While the real price was a little low, it was not obviously mispriced or significantly below the long-term median price of $81. The spread was slightly high, but again not obviously mispriced, or significantly above the long-term median of a backwardation of 98 cents. Chartbook: Global oil stocks and pricesThere are no comprehensive estimates for OECD inventories in June as yet. Related columns:- Frustrated oil bulls made to wait for price recovery (June 22, 2023)- Saudi Arabia’s 'lollipop' has yet to sweeten oil prices (June 6, 2023)John Kemp is a Reuters market analyst.

Persons: Brent, John Kemp, Barbara Lewis Organizations: Global, OECD, U.S . Energy Information Administration, ⁺, Thomson, Reuters Locations: United States, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Venezuela, Iran, North America, Europe, China, Saudi

In the physical market, dated Brent prices are in contango through the rest of June and July, indicating traders expect plenty of crude to be available. The second-month spread is firmer, in the 66th percentile, but still implies the market is expected to tighten only gradually in the third quarter. Global petroleum inventories are well below the long-term average, especially for refined fuels such as diesel and gas oil. If the global economy avoids recession and resumes steady growth, low inventories could quickly put explosive upward pressure on prices and spreads. At the same time, expectations about a strong rebound in the economy and oil consumption in China have been deferred.

Persons: Brent, John Kemp, Barbara Lewis Organizations: OPEC, OPEC ⁺, Thomson Locations: Saudi Arabia, contango, North America, Europe, China, U.S, Venezuela, Iran, Russia, Saudi

☆ India’s $1 bln education buyout is a studied bet
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MUMBAI, June 21 (Reuters Breakingviews) - The biggest merger in Indian corporate history has opened the door for private equity giant EQT (EQTAB.ST) to enter the country’s education finance market. The deal is touted as the largest ever PE buyout in the country’s financial sector and values Credila at roughly 101 billion rupees ($1.2 billion), or roughly 37 times earnings in the last financial year. The target specalises in education financing for those looking to universities in the United States, the UK and Canada for higher education. The buyers will also inject 20 billion rupees into Credila, which should help give the company, already a market major, an edge over rivals including state-controlled banks and the Warburg Pincus-backed Avanse Financial Services. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

Persons: HDFC, Credila, BPEA EQT, Warburg Pincus, Shritama Bose, Robyn Mak, Thomas Shum Organizations: Reuters, Chrys Capital, Bajaj Finance, Financial, Twitter, Virgin, Thomson Locations: MUMBAI, Swedish, United States, Canada, India, Credila, Cava

Hedge funds and other money managers sold the equivalent of 21 million barrels of crude oil options and futures but purchased 18 million barrels of products, including 14 million of distillates, over the week ending on June 13. The biggest rotation has been from U.S. crude to European gas oil, reflecting the rise in crude inventories in the United States while stocks of distillates, used heavily in Europe, remain well below normal around the world. The most recent weekly increase in gas oil positions was the largest for almost two years since August 2021 and before that November 2020. Funds had already built a fairly sizeable position in U.S. diesel and now bullishness is starting to spill over into European gas oil. U.S. commercial crude oil inventories were 16 million barrels (+4% or +0.28 standard deviations) above the prior ten-year seasonal average on June 9.

Persons: ”, John Kemp, Kirsten Donovan Organizations: ICE, Funds, diesel, Saudi, Thomson, Reuters Locations: United States, Europe, NYMEX, U.S, Freeport LNG, Saudi

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