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☆ Who Is James Gorman? Morgan Stanley CEO, Taylor Swift Booster
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-20 | by ( Justin Baer | Gregory Zuckerman | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

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☆ Nina Gold on creating film stars, audition tapes, and why she'll never act
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Thomas Page | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

This is the same Nina Gold who’s made a successful career casting some of the defining films and TV shows of this century. “I still don’t really understand what it is that makes acting good,” she says. For “Bad Sisters’” smarmy, abusive antagonist John Paul, Gold cast Claes Bang. For Gold and her team – rising to six people, depending on projects – it’s a lot of logistics and audition tapes. Gold cast Taylor-Johnson in his breakout role as John Lennon in “Nowhere Boy” (2009) at age 18-20, she guesses, but had been auditioning him since about the age of nine.

☆ Schwab Taps Credit Markets to Raise $2.5 Billion in Debt
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Justin Baer | Sam Goldfarb | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

With a wry nod to the weekend coronation of King Charles, Goldman Sachs' currency team labelled an upgrade of its sterling recommendation from neutral to 'Long (live) Sterling' - nudging a 3-month forecast for sterling 3% stronger to 0.86 per euro. "Headwinds on sterling in 2022 - mostly natural gas prices and the relative stance of BoE policy - have turned to tailwinds." Economic surprise indexes compiled by Citi show incoming UK readouts more positive relative to expectations than at any time since October 2020. But the FTSE 250 is mostly holding its own so far in 2023 as they have both advanced 3%-4%. UK Economic Surprises surge vs rest of the westG3 Terminal RatesFTSE100 vs FTSE250The opinions expressed here are those of the author, a columnist for Reuters.

☆ Concern Over TD Anti-Money-Laundering Practices Helped Scuttle First Horizon Deal
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( Justin Baer | Vipal Monga | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Toronto-Dominion Bank said it works diligently to prevent criminals from using the bank for illegal activity. Photo: Joe Raedle/Getty ImagesToronto-Dominion Bank ’s handling of suspicious customer transactions was behind regulators’ refusal to bless the Canadian lender’s $13.4 billion bid to buy First Horizon , people familiar with the matter said. The banks called off the proposed union Thursday, citing uncertainty over whether and when they could receive regulatory approvals, without being more specific. The reluctance by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Federal Reserve to give TD a clean bill of health on its anti-money-laundering practices proved to be the biggest obstacle, the people said.

☆ US Fed points finger at Trump-era rollback for SVB demise
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-29 | by ( Douglas Gillison | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

According to the Fed, SVB's management bore significant blame and bank examiners also made grave missteps. Randal Quarles, who was appointed to the Fed by President Donald Trump in 2017, oversaw the Fed's bank supervision until his resignation in 2021. Patrick McHenry, the Republican chair of the House of Representatives Financial Services Committee, blasted the Fed report as a "thinly veiled attempt" to justify positions like those of Warren. According to the report, the 2018 law caused the Fed to raise the supervisory threshold for large banks, i.e. those smaller than the "global systemically important banks," to $100 billion in assets from $50 billion -- delaying stricter oversight of SVB "by at least three years."

Depositors had pulled $100 billion from accounts at the bank in the panic triggered by the SVB and Signature failures, imperiling its survival. Both SVB and Signature failed last month. Both SVB and Signature grew quickly in recent years, outpacing the ability of regulators to keep up, especially with shrinking resources. Regulators closed Signature two days after SVB was shuttered. Signature lost 20% of its total deposits in a matter of hours on the day that SVB failed, FDIC Chair Martin Gruenberg has said.

☆ Quotes: Fed plans broad revamp of bank oversight in wake of SVB collapse
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +11 min

The assertion in the introduction that the Fed should focus on large bank capital requirements is disconnected from the report's conclusions. AMERICAN BANK ASSOCIATION PRESIDENT AND CEO ROB NICOLS"We take any bank failure seriously, and we will review the findings and proposed policy changes in these reports carefully, including where the conclusions may differ. JONATHAN MONDILLO, HEAD OF NORTH AMERICAN FIXED INCOME AT ABRDN"We're likely to see higher capital requirements. What that means for the overall markets is that the devil is in the details: how stringent those capital requirements will be. A potential First Republic Bank failure could similarly present a risk to the long-term investment strategy of high net-worth individuals."

Both SVB and Signature failed last month. Regulators shut SVB on March 10, a day after customers withdrew $42 billion and queued requests for another $100 billion the following morning. Both SVB and Signature grew quickly in recent years, outpacing the ability of regulators to keep up, especially with shrinking resources. Regulators closed Signature two days after SVB was shuttered. Signature lost 20% of its total deposits in a matter of hours on the day that SVB failed, FDIC Chair Martin Gruenberg has said.

☆ Julius Baer discusses M&T Bank's performance and banking sector
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailConfidence may return to banking sector if M&T Bank's performance is indicative of others': BankMark Matthews of bank Julius Baer says M&T Bank "beat expectations" and its guidance was above what analysts had forecast, and if that's indicative of what the others will report, confidence will probably return to the banking sector.

China's refined copper imports and exportsIMPORT SLUMPChina imported 408,174 tonnes of copper in March, down by 19% year-on-year and the lowest monthly intake since October. The preliminary customs report aggregates arrivals of refined metal, anode, alloy and semi-manufactured products. The country also imported 1.8 million tonnes of recyclable materials, the largest amount since 2018, and a record 25.3 million tonnes of mined concentrates. National refined copper output rose by 11% year-on-year in January-February, according to the country's official statistics body. So far this year it seems to have lost its appetite for more refined copper.

☆ State Street, Schwab See Deposits Drop
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-17 | by ( Justin Baer | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Charles Schwab Corp. and State Street Corp. both reported a decline in customer deposits, the latest sign that rising interest rates continue to weigh on banks’ balance sheets. At Schwab, the brokerage giant, deposits fell 11% to $326 billion from the previous quarter and were down 30% from a year earlier. State Street, one of the largest custody banks, said Monday that deposits totaled about $224 billion at the end of the first quarter, down 5% from December and 11% from a year ago.

☆ Rivals can feast on Credit Suisse client spoils
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-17 | by ( Lisa Jucca | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Credit Suisse saw 110 billion Swiss francs flying out the door in the final quarter of 2022. These outflows were chiefly cash from wealthy clients and some deposits at Credit Suisse's Swiss bank unit. Those holding accounts at both Credit Suisse and UBS may dislike too much wealth concentration. And Credit Suisse is hardly incentivised to transfer securities swiftly. The minister said this was needed because Credit Suisse customers had again withdrawn money.

☆ Swiss bank Julius Baer makes key appointments in Southeast Asia
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SINGAPORE, April 13 (Reuters) - Zurich-based Julius Baer (BAER.S) has appointed Chin Lit Yee as its new head of South East Asia, the private bank said on Thursday. Kevin Tay will assume Yee's previous role as group head of South East Asia, with all appointments coming into effect on Thursday, according to the statement. Prior to joining Julius Baer in 2015, he had worked with Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank and J.P. Morgan, according to Thursday's statement. The appointments come as Julius Baer intensifies its focus on Asia, its second home market. Meanwhile, Julius Baer named Yee Kim Tan as its Singapore branch manager.

April 13 (Reuters) - Swiss fragrance and flavour maker Givaudan (GIVN.S) on Thursday reported quarterly like-for-like sales slightly above expectations, with price rises helping to offset lower sales volumes in North America. Its first-quarter revenue rose 3.6% to 1.84 billion Swiss francs ($1.97 billion) on a like-for-like basis, beating the 1.80 billion francs expected by analysts in a poll compiled by the company. The sales growth was below Givaudan's mid-term target of between 4% and 5% on average, which it also reiterated. On a reported basis, sales fell 0.4% to 1.77 billion Swiss francs. Givaudan reported a 9.5% drop in like-for-like sales in North America, the only region to record a decline in the quarter.

[1/2] The logo of chocolate and cocoa product maker Barry Callebaut is pictured during the company's annual news conference in Zurich, Switzerland, Nov. 7, 2018. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann/File PhotoApril 5 (Reuters) - Switzerland's Barry Callebaut (BARN.S), the world's biggest chocolate maker, on Wednesday appointed Peter Feld as its new chief executive after lowering sales volume guidance as inflation-hit consumers cut back on purchases. The chocolate maker now forecasts full-year volume growth to be "flat to modest," Chief Financial Officer Ben De Schryver said. Barry Callebaut shares were down 2.5%, according to Julius Baer bank's pre-market indications. The company said that the sales volumes decline moderated in the second quarter, slowing to -0.5%, from -5.1% in the previous quarter.

☆ Julius Baer CEO eyes gains from Credit Suisse's fall -media
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

ZURICH, April 3 (Reuters) - Julius Baer (BAER.S) is having "constructive discussions" with Credit Suisse (CSGN.S) staff who are looking to leave following their bank's takeover by UBS (UBSG.S), the Swiss private bank's Chief Executive said in an interview on Monday. The takeover, engineered by Swiss authorities last month, would be difficult, he told the newspaper. "An integration of that order of magnitude in Switzerland is going to take a lot of resources and effort, and a lot of complexity." "We have hiring opportunities in Latin America, we have hiring opportunities in Asia ...and ... in Europe and in Switzerland," he said. "Things will remain very complicated — everything that was there a month ago will not go away," Rickenbacher said.

Credit Suisse Group AG’s new-look investment bank, CS First Boston, was supposed to help salvage the lender. Instead, it may have hastened its fall. The Swiss bank, buffeted by years of missteps and scandals, had a choice last year: Raise even billions more in new stock to shut down its scandal-prone investment bank or pull out the best parts and try to make money. It went for the second option, and miscalculated investors’ willingness to give it one more shot.

☆ A popular brand of hoverboard was just recalled, nearly a year after two sisters died in a fire authorities linked to the toy
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Aidan Pollard | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

The 42-volt model of Jetson Rogue Hoverboard was recalled this week. Following the fire in April, the Hellertown Borough Fire Marshal determined the Jetson Rogue Hoverboard started the blaze, local station WPVI reported. In a notice posted on its website on Thursday, the CPSC urged customers to immediately stop using the 42-volt version of Jetson Rogue Hoverboard. The recalled Jetson Rogue hoverboards were sold at Target stores nationwide and on the Jetson Rogue website, according to the CPSC. The Kaufman family purchased the hoverboard at Walmart, Lehigh Valley Live reported.

☆ Charles Schwab Says It Could Ride Out a Deposit Flight
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Justin Baer | Charley Grant | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Charles Schwab Corp., one of a host of financial firms that have taken a drubbing since the collapse of several regional banks this month, is pushing back against fears that it could face some of the same problems as paper losses on its bondholdings mount. In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Schwab’s chief executive said the brokerage giant could continue to operate even if it lost most of its deposits over the next year.

☆ Swiss Miss: Why UBS's deal with Credit Suisse will threaten its hold on rich clients
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Hayley Cuccinello | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

UBS was already the largest private wealth manager in the world before it agreed to buy fellow Swiss bank Credit Suisse. UBS and Credit Suisse are both known for servicing the ultra-rich, though UBS does so on a much larger scale. The acquirer had $2.8 trillion in global wealth management assets as of the end of 2022 while Credit Suisse's totalled $585 billion. But the merger gives UBS and Credit Suisse clients the thing that matters mostBut the acquisition wasn't just about rescuing Credit Suisse but restoring confidence in the Swiss banking system, Ibrahim noted. For one Irish billionaire and Credit Suisse client, this is what matters most.

☆ UBS will become a Swiss wealth behemoth after buying Credit Suisse, but blending the two rivals could get awkward and messy
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( Hayley Cuccinello | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

UBS was already a giant in wealth management before it agreed to buy doomed rival Credit Suisse. UBS was already the largest private wealth manager in the world before it agreed to buy fellow Swiss bank Credit Suisse. UBS and Credit Suisse are both known for servicing the ultra-rich, though UBS does so on a much larger scale. The acquirer had $2.8 trillion in global wealth management assets as of the end of 2022 while Credit Suisse's totalled $585 billion. But the merger gives UBS and Credit Suisse clients the thing that matters mostBut the acquisition wasn't just about rescuing Credit Suisse but restoring confidence in the Swiss banking system, Ibrahim noted.

Swiss authorities are expected to reach at least a rough deal before markets reopen. UBS Group AG is in talks to take over parts or all of Credit Suisse Group AG , which might involve a government backstop, part of an urgent effort by Swiss and global authorities to restore trust in the banking system, people familiar with the situation said. Credit Suisse took a more-than-$50 billion Swiss National Bank liquidity lifeline this week after concerns deepened about its prospects. The action didn’t do enough to stop the slide in Credit Suisse’s shares or stem the loss of bank deposits, compelling the central bank and Switzerland’s top financial regulator to orchestrate talks with Credit Suisse’s larger rival, UBS.

UBS has long been seen as part of any state-backed solution for Credit Suisse. UBS Group AG is nearing a deal to take over Credit Suisse Group AG, part of an urgent effort engineered by Swiss and global authorities to restore trust in the banking system, people familiar with the situation said. The deal could come together Sunday if not sooner, the people said. Regulators have offered to waive a requirement for customary shareholder votes to expedite the sale, one of the people said. The discussions were fast-moving and a remaining sticking point was the status of who will own Credit Suisse’s substantial Swiss retail arm, the people said.

As part of the overhaul announced in October, it is seeking to spin off merger advice and leveraged finance into a new entity named Credit Suisse First Boston (CSFB), for which it has been seeking buyers. Credit Suisse is most valuable in separate parts, and there are high-level M&A talks taking place, said a senior banker who advises banks on deals. TAKEOVERSelling off parts of Credit Suisse could require time, which markets may not give. The two have complementary investment banking businesses -Credit Suisse is stronger in credit and UBS in equities. However, some have faith that Credit Suisse can still make it safely to the end of the tight rope.

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