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☆ Wall Street bankers to see bonuses shrink as dealmaking sputters - Bloomberg Law
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Dec 2 (Reuters) - Wall Street banks are weighing plans to slash bonuses this year, Bloomberg Law reported on Friday, as investment banking comes under pressure from choppy markets and a high interest-rate environment. Citigroup Inc (C.N) and Bank of America Corp (BAC.N) are considering cutting bonus pools by as much as 30%, the report said, citing people with knowledge of the internal deliberations. JPMorgan Chase and Co , the biggest U.S. bank by assets, is also planning bonus cuts, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters. Compensation and performance discussions typically begin in December as senior executives give indications about overall bonus pools that will be negotiated and finalized toward year-end. Citigroup and Bank of America declined to comment on the matter, while JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs did not respond to Reuters requests for comment.

☆ JPMorgan, BofA and Citi to slash banker bonuses - Bloomberg Law
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Dec 2 (Reuters) - JPMorgan Chase & Co , Bank of America Corp (BAC.N) and Citigroup Inc (C.N) are all weighing plans to cut bonus pools for their investment bankers by as much as 30%, Bloomberg Law reported on Friday, citing people with knowledge of the internal deliberations. Reporting by Niket Nishant in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika SyamnathOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

WASHINGTON, Dec 1 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden rolled out the red carpet on Thursday for celebrities, lawmakers, and titans of industry at the White House's first state dinner in honor of French President Emmanuel Macron. The guest list included actress Jennifer Garner and her daughter with Ben Affleck, Violet; singer John Legend and model Chrissy Teigen; "Vogue" editor Anna Wintour; and director Baz Luhrmann. On Thursday night, Biden and his wife, Jill, welcomed the Macrons back to the White House for the dinner after diplomatic meetings earlier in the day. [1/7] Jennifer Garner and her daughter Violet Affleck arrive for a state dinner in honor of French President Emmanuel Macron at the White House in Washington, U.S., December 1, 2022. The lavish Washington dinner is one of few events that bring together people including the president's son Hunter and Kevin McCarthy, who leads a Republican congressional delegation that has vowed to investigate his business dealings.

☆ Recession may force Fed rate cut in 2023, sending Treasury yields lower -BofA
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( Davide Barbuscia | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

"The Fed is likely going to show signs of becoming successful in their attempt to rein in inflation by softening the labor market," he said. "That's probably also going to be allowing for volatility within rates and across markets to compress to some extent." The Fed has raised interest rates by 375 basis points so far this year as it attempts to bring down the highest inflation in decades. Cabana expects the central bank to increase rates three more times until reaching a terminal rate of 5.25% in March. Ten-year Treasury yields - a global benchmark for a swathe of other asset classes - are set to decline from 4% in the first quarter next year to 3.25% by year end, Cabana said.

☆ Bank of America CEO predicts two years of pain ahead in the housing market
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( Paul R. La Monica | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

New York CNN Business —The CEO of one of the nation’s largest banks is preparing for an economic downturn in 2023. But Moynihan told Harlow that the worst-case fears for the economy may not materialize — thanks to the continued resilience of American shoppers. Still, Moynihan is concerned that there could be more tough times ahead for the housing market. And the way you do that is raising interest rates,” Moynihan said. “The intended outcome of [the Fed’s] policies doesn’t feel good when you are trying to buy a home.”Moynihan told Harlow that there could be two years of pain in the housing market before activity returns to normal.

☆ Berkshire Hathaway says Warren Buffett donates shares to family charities
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Nov 23 (Reuters) - Berkshire Hathaway Inc (BRKa.N) said Warren Buffett has donated more of his fortune to four family charities, without disclosing whether the billionaire chairman made a new donation to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Buffett donated 1.5 million shares to the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation. Another 900,000 shares were split evenly among charities run by his children Howard, Susan and Peter: the Howard G. Buffett Foundation, the Sherwood Foundation and the Novo Foundation. Buffett has since 2006 donated more than half of his Berkshire shares, worth more than $46 billion at the time of the donations. According the Buffett family foundation websites, the Howard G. Buffett Foundation works to alleviate hunger, mitigate conflicts and improve public safety around the world.

☆ U.S. business equipment borrowings grew 6% in October- ELFA
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Nov 21 (Reuters) - U.S. companies borrowed 6% more in October to finance equipment investments compared with a year earlier, industry body Equipment Leasing and Finance Association (ELFA) said on Monday. The companies signed up for $11.3 billion in new loans, leases and lines of credit last month, compared with $10.7 billion a year earlier, according to ELFA. ELFA, which reports economic activity for the nearly $1-trillion equipment finance sector, said credit approvals totaled 77%, marginally down from 77.3% in September. The Washington-based body's leasing and finance index measures the volume of commercial equipment financed in the United States. The Equipment Leasing & Finance Foundation, ELFA's non-profit affiliate, said its confidence index in November stood at 43.7%, down from 45% in October.

☆ Indonesia’s green step not yet a leap for mankind
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( George Hay | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +8 min

That’s where the private sector comes in, and why Just Energy Transition Partnerships (JETPs) are a potential game changer. More significantly, seven international banks, including HSBC (HSBA.L), (0005.HK), Citigroup and Bank of America (BAC.N), have promised to match that amount. International Finance Corporation figures show that “concessional” finance extended by public bodies at below-market rates can often attract 10 times its own level in private finance. The GFANZ working group will need to ensure Jakarta is sticking to its side of the decarbonisation bargain. The GFANZ group includes Bank of America, Citigroup, Deutsche Bank, HSBC, Macquarie, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group and Standard Chartered.

☆ He Made Custom Furniture—and Now He Makes Whiskey
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( Julie Halpert | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Stephen Paul started experimenting at making whiskey just for himself and his wife in Arizona. In 2011, he and his daughter launched their company, Whiskey Del Bac by Hamilton Distillers. It was an unusual road that Stephen Paul followed on his way to becoming a maker of whiskey. Mr. Paul, a native of southern Arizona, experienced his first career change at the age of 30 when he gave up teaching environmental science and entered architecture school. At the time, he was mainly interested in the historic architecture of the Sonoran Desert region.

☆ Citi downgrades Bank of America, says gains will be hard to come by for the banking stock
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( Alex Harring | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Bank of America 's high valuation little room for upside, Citi warned. Analyst Keith Horowitz downgraded the bank stock to neutral from buy while reiterating his price target at $40, which presents an upside of just 4.1% from Friday's close. "BAC is a high quality franchise that is executing well and may be a good defensive holding in light of upcoming economic and market uncertainty given BAC's good deposit franchise and lower credit risk," he said. He cited a "more conservative view" on deposits going forward and added that that net interest income tailwinds "seem fully factored in" for the banking giant. Other comprehensive income may also be lower, though the bank won't benefit as much because it hedged elsewhere, he said.

☆ What Cramer is watching Monday — two AMD upgrades, Microsoft hesitancy, Alzheimer's results
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( Jim Cramer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Baird upgrades Advance Micro Devices (AMD) to outperform from neutral (buy from hold) and raises price target to $100 per share from $65. UBS goes to a buy from neutral as well and raises price target to $95 from $75. Oppenheimer cuts price target on Club holding Nvidia (NVDA) to $225 per share from $250. Credit Suisse analyst Scott Deuschle assumes coverage on Honeywell (HON) with a neutral rating and a $202-per-share price target. Good for Club holding Eli Lily (LLY) and Biogen (BIIB), which are each working on separate experiment treatments for the disease.

☆ Buffett's Berkshire sheds large portion of US Bancorp stake
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

In a regulatory filing, Berkshire said it owned just over 53 million U.S. Bancorp shares, for a 3.6% stake, on Oct. 31, down from 144.7 million shares, or 9.8%, on Dec. 31, 2021. Berkshire began investing in the Minneapolis-based bank in 2006, according to regulatory filings. U.S. Bancorp and Buffett's assistant did not immediately respond to requests for comment after market hours. Berkshire owned $126.5 billion of the iPhone maker's shares on Sept. 30. On Nov. 14, Berkshire is expected in a regulatory filing to disclose more information about its U.S.-listed stock holdings.

☆ Don’t dump on U.S. coal plan. Make it better!
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( Hugo Dixon | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt, Nov 11 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Sceptics fear an American plan to use voluntary carbon markets to accelerate the energy transition in poor countries could amount to greenwashing. Many critics think rich countries should just fork out the cash themselves to close coal plants – or tax fossil fuel companies to get the money. This “jurisdictional” approach is designed to prevent new coal plants springing up where old ones have been closed. Why not hitch itself to the high standards already being developed by the Voluntary Carbon Markets Integrity Initiative? Another concern is that the ETA is planning to use cash not just to close coal plants but also to ramp up renewable energy.

At the same time, the pan-European STOXX 600 (.STOXX) was down 0.4% and an index of European oil and gas stocks was down 0.9%. (.SXEP)The IPO, which priced at the bottom of the expected price range, gave an initial valuation of 2.45 billion pounds ($2.83 billion) for the company. The London stock exchange has suffered the worst year on record for UK IPOs as market volatility persists amid the energy crisis and worsening economic forecasts. So far in 2022, global utility and energy IPOs valued at more than $100 million saw an average 19.9% return after one day, compared with negative returns for European utility and energy IPOs and UK IPOs across all sectors, according to Dealogic data. The last oil and gas producer to float on the main London stock exchange was eastern Mediterranean-focused Energean (ENOG.L) in 2018.

The latest stock sale comes as analysts had also widely expected Musk to sell additional Tesla shares. Tesla has lost nearly half its market value and Musk's net worth slumped by $70 billion ever since he bid for Twitter in April. Musk pledged to provide $46.5 billion in equity and debt financing for the acquisition, which covered the $44 billion price tag and the closing costs. Banks, including Morgan Stanley (MS.N) and Bank of America Corp (BAC.N), committed to provide $13 billion in debt financing. Tesla and Twitter did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment.

☆ Consumers turn to credit cards, loans as costs soar - report
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Nov 8 (Reuters) - More consumers opted for credit cards and unsecured loans in the third-quarter from a year earlier amid decades-high inflation, according to a report on Tuesday from global credit rating firm TransUnion (TRU.N). While delinquencies for most credit products are treading in line with pre-pandemic levels, they have risen in comparison to levels seen in 2021, the quarterly Credit Industry Insights Report (CIIR) added. Most consumer-facing U.S. banks, including JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N) and Bank of America (BAC.N) as well as credit card giant American Express (AXP.N), built rainy-day funds in the third-quarter for loans that could potentially sour as consumers start feeling the pinch of the economic slowdown. According to the report, credit card balances continue to grow, with bank card balances reaching a record high of $866 billion in the third quarter, driven primarily by Gen Z and millennial borrowers. Reporting by Manya Saini in Bengaluru; Editing by Vinay DwivediOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Here are Friday's biggest analyst calls: Roblox, WeWork, Krispy Kreme, Boeing, Coinbase & more
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( Michael Bloom | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Here are Friday's biggest calls on Wall Street: Bank of America reiterates Roblox as buy Bank of America said it's standing by shares of the stock heading into earnings next week. JPMorgan downgrades Funko to neutral from overweight JPMorgan downgraded the pop culture toy company, noting it sees too much uncertainty. " Piper Sandler downgrades Atlassian to neutral from overweight Piper said it sees a slowdown in subscription billings for the software developer. " Bank of America reiterates Krispy Kreme as buy Bank of America said "brand health is strong but FX, UK, promos weigh," heading into Krispy Kreme earnings Nov. 15. Jefferies reiterates Topgolf Callaway Brands as buy Jefferies said it sees 200% upside in shares of the golf company. "

☆ Italy's Monte dei Paschi says cash call 96.3% covered
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( Valentina Za | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Concerns about tapping markets against the backdrop of the Ukraine war, record inflation and an impending economic slump had risked derailing Monte dei Paschi's (MPS) seventh cash call in 14 years. European Union laws curbing state aid to banks capped the Italian taxpayers' contribution at 1.6 billion euros, reflecting Rome's 64% stake in MPS. Underwriters led by global coordinators Bank of America (BAC.N), Citigroup , Credit Suisse (CSGN.S) and Mediobanca (MDBI.MI) will be left holding 93 million euros in shares, MPS said. Having committed up to 200 million euros towards the issue, AXA is expected to emerge as the Tuscan bank's second-biggest shareholder. ($1 = 1.0265 euro)($1 = 1.0259 euros)Reporting by Valentina Za; Editing by Jonathan Oatis and Andrea RicciOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Ithaca Energy breathes life into UK stock market as bookrunners eye $3.6 bln listing
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, Nov 2 (Reuters) - Ithaca Energy's (IPO-IHEG.L) London listing will be priced at 250 to 310 pence, giving the North Sea oil and gas producer an implied market value of 2.5 billion to 3.1 billion pounds ($2.87 billion to $3.56 billion), bookrunners said on Wednesday. Ithaca, owned by Tel Aviv-listed Delek Group (DLEKG.TA), expects to be eligible for inclusion in the FTSE UK indices. The bookrunners said the listing is expected to have a free float of at least 10%, with the first day of trading on November 9. Goldman Sachs (GS.N) and Morgan Stanley are joint global co-ordinators on the deal while HSBC (HSBA.L), Jefferies (JEF.N) and Bank of America (BAC.N) are joint bookrunners, with ING (INGA.AS) acting as co-lead manager. ($1 = 0.8702 pounds)Reporting by Huw Jones and Sinead Cruise; editing by Jason Neely and Louise HeavensOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Musk's lenders prepare to hold $12.7 bln Twitter debt on books until early 2023 - FT
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Nov 1 (Reuters) - Banks that lent $12.7 billion to Elon Musk for his $44 billion Twitter takeover will hold the debt until early next year as they wait for the billionaire to unveil a clearer business plan they can market to investors, the Financial Times reported. The group of lenders, led by Morgan Stanley (MS.N), Bank of America (BAC.N) and Barclays (BARC.L), have conceded they will be stuck holding the debt on their books for months or even longer and will probably end up incurring huge losses on the financing package, according to the report published Tuesday, citing sources. Morgan Stanley, Bank of America and Twitter did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment, while Barclays declined to comment. Reporting by Lavanya Ahire in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi AichOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

HONG KONG, Nov 1 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Hong Kong’s third-quarter GDP plunged 4.5% from a year earlier as consumers and companies slashed spending. The government is trying to rally enthusiasm for its finance sector - as signaled by the flagship Fintech Week and Global Financial Leaders Investment Summit events happening this week. Beijing's commitment to stamping out Covid-19 infections on the mainland has halted vital flows of tourists and business people to Hong Kong. Moreover, Hong Kong's currency peg to the U.S. dollar means it must follow the U.S. Federal Reserve's rate hikes even though its inflation rate is less than half that in the United States. "Looking ahead, the markedly deteriorating external environment will continue to pose immense pressure on Hong Kong's export performance in the remainder of the year," the city government said.

☆ Democratic U.S. senator wants probe into Saudi firm's stake in Twitter
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-31 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Senator Chris Murphy said on Monday he wants a U.S. national security review of a Saudi Arabian conglomerate's stake in Twitter Inc after Elon Musk's takeover of the social media company. "The deal is in line with the long-term investment strategy which Kingdom Holding Company is known for," the statement said. Alwaleed's Kingdom Holding is 16.9% owned by Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund, which is chaired by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Banks including Morgan Stanley (MS.N) and Bank of America Corp (BAC.N) committed to provide $13 billion in debt financing. Reporting by David Shepardson in Washington Editing by Franklin Paul and Matthew LewisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Banks plan to sell Tenneco buyout debt next week -sources
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-28 | by ( Matt Tracy | Shankar Ramakrishnan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Banks led by Citigroup Inc (C.N) and Bank of America Corp (BAC.N) aim to begin marketing a portion of the Tenneco debt package's secured portion as early as next week, said one of the sources. The package consists of a $2.4 billion leveraged loan, a $2 billion secured bond, and a $1 billion unsecured bond. This activity is rekindling hope among banks that they may not have to suffer big loses to shed junk-rated debt from their balance sheet. If the Tenneco syndication goes well, banks are sitting on plenty of junk-rated debt they may seek to offload. This includes $11 billion in debt backing the takeover of media analytics company Nielsen and $13 billion of debt for Elon Musk’s acquisition of Twitter.

☆ Former U.S. military pilot who worked in China arrested in Australia
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

A former U.S. military pilot and flight instructor who ran an aviation consultancy in China is in custody in Australia awaiting an extradition request from his homeland on an undisclosed charge, officials said Wednesday. Australian Federal Police arrested him that day “pursuant to a request from the United States,” a police statement said. His move followed a report that up to 30 former British military pilots had been hired to train members of China’s People’s Liberation Army. He became an AV-8B Harrier fighter pilot and an instructor pilot during his service. It is not clear whether he continues to live in China or what he was doing in Orange when he was arrested.

☆ Factbox: Who's in and out in Credit Suisse's day of reckoning
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( Pamela Barbaglia | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Oct 27 (Reuters) - Credit Suisse's (CSGN.S) latest shake-up has led to the promotion of some senior executives to more powerful roles while others are leaving. IN:MICHAEL KLEINA former Citigroup Inc (C.N) dealmaker, Klein has been named adviser to Credit Suisse CEO Ulrich Körner. He was hired by former Credit Suisse boss Tidjane Thiam in 2017 to run equity derivatives globally. A Spanish national, Lopez Lorenzo joined Credit Suisse in 2015 from JPMorgan (JPM.N) where he was a managing director in New York. The 47-year-old banker was part of a new crop of executives who had been tasked to restore Credit Suisse's reputation after a series of scandals.

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