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☆ Morning Bid: Alibaba fires up market mood
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

An unprecedented revamp of Chinese tech conglomerate Alibaba Group, which analysts believe to have the blessings of local regulators, pushed up Alibaba's U.S.-listed stock, and then its Hong Kong shares on Wednesday. Companies in China's internet, private education and property sectors have lost billions of dollars in market value in recent years as the country's regulators cracked down on their operations. Reuters GraphicsAlthough a lacklustre 0.6% rise in Asia's main stock market gauge, led by Hong Kong tech names, shows that animal spirits haven't returned yet, there's hope for investors who have been left licking their wounds from recent market declines, especially in bank and tech stocks. Global investor confidence remains fragile, with the European Central Bank (ECB) saying that recent volatility highlights the need for greater regulatory scrutiny. Overnight, a survey showed that U.S. consumer confidence unexpectedly increased in March despite recent financial market turmoil, but Americans still expect inflation to remain elevated over the next year.

☆ Analysis: Investors seek value in clobbered U.S. regional bank shares
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( David Randall | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The ETF has slumped nearly 26% since March 8, when SVB's troubles became known, while the S&P Regional Banks Select Industry Index (.SPSIRBK) is down around 23%. Concerns over deposit flight are still swirling around some regional banks. He owns shares of large regional banks including Citizens Financial Group Inc (CFG.N), which have fallen about 22% so far this year, and US Bancorp (USB.N), which are down some 18%. Margie Patel, a senior portfolio manager at Allspring Global Investments, has been adding new positions in regional banks over the last few weeks, citing "value." Regional banks "need positive news that shows their deposits are holding firm or growing," said Rick Meckler, a partner at family office Cherry Lane Investments.

☆ How this 26-year-old went from running bitcoin trading desks in Taco Bells to creating the largest crypto exchange in Africa
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-25 | by ( Mackenzie Sigalos | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +28 min

Yellow Card CEO Chris Maurice just before meeting with the Securities and Exchange Commission in Accra, Ghana. Chris MauriceFrom there, Yellow Card users can send or receive digital cash in eligible markets. Zoom In Icon Arrows pointing outwards Yellow Card CEO Chris Maurice in Accra, Ghana loading cash onto his Mobile Money account, MoMo. Yellow Card has facilitated $1.75 billion in transactions since launching in 2019 and has about 220 employees – mostly in Africa. A resident checks his phone outside a mobile money kiosk in the Kibera district of Nairobi, Kenya, on Monday, Aug. 1, 2022.

☆ China travel rebound bets turn toward airports, away from airlines
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Ankur Banerjee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

"We are optimistic on a rebound in regional and international travel and continue to get exposure through airports and airplane leasing." Shares of Air China, China Eastern and China Southern have gained between 7% to 17% in the past four months, with Air China and China Southern trading above their 5-year average forward earnings, according to Refinitiv data. Airports under perform AirlinesIn the battle for Chinese travelers, local airlines are expected to fare better than regional airlines such as Qantas (QAN.AX), Singapore Airlines (SIAL.SI) and Cathay Pacific (0293.HK), mainly because Chinese airlines kept more widebody planes and staff ready. All three Chinese airlines are expected to swing to profit in 2023 after reporting big losses last year, according to Refinitiv data. Analysts expect Chinese airlines will see profits peak next year as international traffic makes a fuller rebound.

☆ Google Bard is already behind in the AI wars with OpenAI and Microsoft
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Hasan Chowdhury | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Google Bard, the search firm's answer to ChatGPT, has underwhelmed early testers. Users in the US and UK trying out the AI chatbot find it pales in comparison to OpenAI's tech. The makers of the Twofer Goofer word puzzle found ChatGPT was much better at solving the brainteasers than Google's Bard. It's possible that the company does have a super impressive AI tool up its sleeve. Insider's Hugh Langley reported earlier in March that Google employees are testing a more intelligent version of Bard, nicknamed "Big Bard."

His court filing also sought to disqualify the Fulton County District Attorney's Office, which has been conducting the criminal probe, from being involved in the case. The Atlanta grand jury earlier this year finished hearing testimony and reviewing evidence submitted by prosecutors. The panel then recommended the filing of criminal charges against a number of people, who have not been publicly identified. The grand jury focused particularly on a Jan. 2, 2021, phone call, during which Trump asked Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to "find 11,780 votes" for Trump. Trump's 483-page court filing argues that the grand jury "was conducted under an unconstitutional statute, through an illegal and unconstitutional process."

☆ Asian markets tumble as SVB fears rattle banking sector
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( Laura He | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Investors are now on edge over whether the demise of SVB could spark a broader banking sector meltdown. On Monday, US stocks were mixed, with banking shares taking a hit. In Hong Kong, shares in Bank of China (Hong Kong) and Hang Seng Bank fell 3.7% and 1.3% respectively. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group and Mizuho Financial Group both dropped more than 7%. In Seoul, KB Financial Group and Shinhan Financial Group fell 3.6% and 2.5% respectively.

☆ BlackRock says the Federal Reserve could hike interest rates to a peak of 6%
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Jihye Lee | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Rick Rieder, managing director and chief investment officer of fundamental fixed income for BlackRock Inc., speaks during the Institute of International Finance Annual Membership Meeting in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Friday, Oct. 11, 2013. The world's largest asset manager sees the U.S. federal funds rate peaking at 6% after Fed Chair Jerome Powell warned interest rates are likely to head higher than the central bank previously expected. "We think there's a reasonable chance that the Fed will have to bring the Fed Funds rate to 6%, and then keep it there for an extended period to slow the economy and get inflation down to near 2%," BlackRock's chief investment officer of global fixed income Rick Rieder wrote in response to Powell's testimony before the Senate Banking Committee on Tuesday. The economy is more resilient than expected, Rieder said, pointing to the most recent jobs report and consumer price index reading. "This is partly due to the fact that today's economy is no longer as interest-rate sensitive as that of past decades, and its resilience, while a virtue, does complicate matters for the Fed," he wrote in the note.

☆ America’s credit rating could get downgraded even if a default is avoided, Fitch Ratings warns
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( Matt Egan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

New York CNN —Every few years, Washington plays a dangerous game of chicken over whether to raise the debt ceiling or default on US debt. Even if a default is avoided this time, the frequent nature of these political showdowns could cause America’s credit rating to get downgraded, Fitch Ratings told CNN on Monday. Those already look messy and were at the heart of the unprecedented credit ratings downgrade by S&P Global Ratings in 2011. Goldman Sachs told CNN in late January that a full-blown debt ceiling crisis could spark a recession. That’s why Fitch does not have the United States on watch for a downgrade, at least not yet.

☆ This fund is trouncing the S&P 500 by focusing on international stocks
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-05 | by ( Alex Harring | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

A fund once led by an investing great known for finding opportunities in distressed assets is beating the market — but with a somewhat different focus. The Third Avenue Value Fund (TVFVX) outperformed the S & P 500 in 2022, rising 11.2% while the broad-market index shed 19.4%. 'Go where the opportunities are' Fine said that can happen by looking at both country and industry trends. The fund had just over 40% and 30% of its holdings in small- and mid-cap companies, respectively, at the end of 2022. portfolio manager Matt Fine Fine was able to work under Whitman and eventually take over the value fund, which is one of the first the company created, in 2017, a year before Whitman died.

☆ Buy these 7 value stocks to help your portfolio thrive during 'economic purgatory,' according to the manager of a $17 billion fund
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-25 | by ( James Faris | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Detailed below are seven top stocks to buy now, according to the $17.5 billion value fund manager. The silver lining is that most Wall Street firms think the economy will experience a soft landing, which would be characterized by a mild downturn. This means buying value stocks that will both succeed amid a soft landing, as well as those poised to benefit from the more extreme event of a full-blown recession. Overall, he sees the group as attractively valued, especially in a soft landing scenario. Below are seven of Linehan's favorite value stocks to own in this environment along with the ticker, market capitalization, sector, and thesis for each.

☆ Goldman Sachs: Here are 12 stocks that 'smart money' hedge funds are moving to as a micro-driven economy sets them up to outperform the broad market
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-25 | by ( Laila Maidan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Goldman Sachs says hedge funds are pivoting from cyclical value back to growth. Hedge funds did slightly better as they white-knuckled their way through, closing the year down by 4%, according to Goldman Sachs' Hedge Fund Trend Monitor, which analyzes 758 funds. The average hedge fund is trailing closely behind, up 3%, according to a February 21 note from Goldman Sachs. As of February 21, Goldman Sachs' Hedge Fund VIP list (GSTHHVIP), which compiles the top long positions of fundamentally driven hedge funds, was up by 10% this year. The typical hedge fund holds 70% of its long portfolio in its top 10 positions, according to the note.

☆ Biden nominates former MasterCard chief Banga to head World Bank
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Andrea Shalal | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/2] Ajay Banga, CEO of MasterCard, speaks during the Women In The World Summit in the Manhattan borough of New York April 8, 2016. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson/File PhotoWASHINGTON, Feb 23 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden on Thursday nominated Indian-American business executive Ajay Banga to become president of the World Bank, lauding his experience forging public-private partnerships to address financial inclusion and climate change. “Ajay is uniquely equipped to lead the World Bank at this critical moment in history," Biden said in a statement. Banga's nomination is the first to be made public, but the bank will accept nominations from other member countries through March 29. That would enable the World Bank to serve "as a force multiplier for good" by catalyzing action from the wide range of players, she said, adding that the World Bank could not meet the massive needs of developing countries on its own.

☆ Bernie Sanders says 'we want to look at a shorter workweek' as part of his pro-worker agenda leading a key Senate panel on labor
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Nicole Gaudiano | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Sen. Bernie Sanders is the new head of a key Senate panel on labor issues. Sen. Bernie Sanders is pushing for a four-day workweek, worker-owned businesses, and taxing robots that replace workers. Sanders told Insider he plans to hold at least one hearing on the future of work, exploring how workers can benefit from a revolution in technology. "It is an outrage that you have a billionaire like Howard Schultz engaging in vicious anti-union activity and I think he has got to explain his illegal behavior to the Senate," Sanders told me. "As technology increases worker productivity, we want to look at a shorter workweek," he said.

☆ BANK OF AMERICA: Buy these 25 stocks as their buybacks give them a major edge in the downturn that's just beginning
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-19 | by ( Marley Jay | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Hall put together a list of "Buy" rated stocks that have been leading shares repurchasers recently. Bank of America was one of the firms that told investors to bet on small-cap stocks going in to 2023 — and so far, their faith in smaller companies have been rewarded. The price of the small-cap Russell 2000 index has jumped 11.1% year-to-date. When that's the case, companies that rank in the top 25% of Russell 2000 stock repurchasers have outperformed the index substantially. "We provide a screen of Russell 2000 stocks with the biggest YoY net reduction in share count over the last 12 months, limiting to those which are Buy-rated by BofA fundamental analysts," she wrote.

☆ Nuveen investment chief Saira Malik told us how investors should be positioned today, and when they should flip the switch and change strategies for bigger post-recession profits
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( Marley Jay | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Saira Malik is the chief investment officer at Nuveen, which manages $1.1 trillion in assets. Malik favors fixed income over stocks, and explained how she thinks investors should allocate. January was a decent month for stocks, and the third positive month for US indexes out of the last four. Some might call it a relief rally, but Nuveen investment chief Saira Malik doesn't seem relieved. She's the chief investment officer and head of the global investment committee for Nuveen, a unit of TIAA that managed $1.1 trillion in assets as of September 30.

☆ Why do people buy crackpot conspiracy theories?
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( Adam Rogers | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

When it comes to the spread of cockamamie conspiracy theories, Twitter was a maximum viable product long before Elon Musk paid $44 billion for the keys. The more you think you're right all the time, a new study suggests, the more likely you are to buy conspiracy theories, regardless of the evidence. It'd be better, or at least more reassuring, if conspiracy theories were fueled by dumb yahoos rather than self-centered monsters. Still, most scientists thought conspiracy theories weren't worth their time, the province of weirdos connecting JFK's death to lizard aliens. Pennycook's findings also suggest an explanation for why conspiracy theories have become so widely accepted.

☆ EU court backs move to prise open bloc's decision making
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Huw Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Jan 25 (Reuters) - European Union member states must grant public access to documents circulated in their working groups for adopting laws, an EU court ruled on Wednesday, as efforts to prise open the bloc's legislative machine make further progress. EU states, collectively known as the Council, have joint say with the European Parliament on approving laws proposed by the European Commission and which apply across the 27-country bloc. Decisions are often agreed in meetings away from the public gaze and then later rubber-stamped in public. Emilio De Capitani, a former official at the European Parliament, brought a case against the Council's refusal to make available documents used for approving an amendment to an EU law on annual financial statements. Trilogues are meetings between parliament and EU states to thrash out the final version of a law that will come into effect - a crucial stage where last minute deals are struck and new elements can be included.

☆ A Nike exec says a phisher stole his NFTs. Here are 3 things everyone should do to protect a digital wallet
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( Matthew Kish | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

In a tweet, Gopalani said the phishers stole his Clonex NFTs and some other digital collectibles, including some "Cryptokicks." Decrypt, a publication that covers web3, estimated the stolen NFTs were worth $173,000. Don't keep your digital assets in one place. Hardware wallets store keys to digital assets offline, making them inaccessible to cyber thieves. There's a growing suite of tools for digital assets, too.

☆ Crypto is a ‘hot ball of money’ with very little intrinsic value, hedge fund says
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( Allison Morrow | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

For the uninitiated: Momentum trading is in an investment strategy that aims to capitalize on a trend. See a stock going up, buy the stock, make money. See a stock going down, short it, make money. The crypto trading world functions in much the same way. The momentum effect becomes self-fulfilling “as market participants attempt to front run the hot ball of money.”

☆ Crypto has little intrinsic value or fundamentals to fall back on, and traders are merely riding a 'hot ball' of momentum, investment firm says
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( Jennifer Sor | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Crypto has little intrinsic value, and traders are merely capitalizing on momentum to take profits,A paper from Starkiller Capital said there is little evidence that fundamentals influence the price of crypto assets. In the absence of fundamentals, traders must rely on a set of narratives to generate momentum. Sign up for our newsletter to get the inside scoop on what traders are talking about — delivered daily to your inbox. That dynamic is likely encouraged by online communities for crypto traders, the large amount of fraud and market manipulation in the industry, and the fact that crypto traders are "very online" and tend to react strongly to the development of particular market narratives. "We believe the momentum effect becomes self-fulfilling as market participants attempt to front run the hot ball of money," the paper said.

☆ Goldman Sachs downgrades this stock as auto market faces a tough macro outlook, names Tesla a top pick
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( Samantha Subin | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Shares of Keysight Technologies look poised for a reset as both the auto and communications infrastructure industries face a difficult macro environment ahead, according to Goldman Sachs. Analyst Mark Delaney downgraded shares of the electronic design and test solutions company that supplies products to the industries like autos, to neutral from buy. He cited increased exposure to a dwindling communications infrastructure market and the company's premium valuation relative to peers. "We expect a slowdown in telecom/communications infrastructure capex given the weaker macroeconomic backdrop, which could negatively impact Keysight's business in our opinion," Delaney wrote in a Tuesday note. Delaney also named General Motors and Tesla as his favored picks in 2023, noting that both companies are leading the way in autonomy.

☆ ETF edge with JPMorgan's Hamilton Reiner
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | 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 EmailETF edge with JPMorgan's Hamilton ReinerHamilton Reiner, JPMorgan asset manager, joins the 'Halftime Report' to discuss active management of ETFs, the importance of fundamentals for fund managers and the potential for a soft landing.

☆ Indian markets may see FPI revival after worst-ever selloff in 2022- analysts
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-30 | by ( Bharath Rajeswaran | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BENGALURU, Dec 29 (Reuters) - Foreign investors' selloff in Indian equities was the biggest on record in 2022, dragging the benchmark indexes to their smallest annual gain in four years, but analysts expect purchases by cross-border investors to rebound next year. Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold 1,219.08 billion rupees ($14.73 billion) worth of Indian equities in 2022, till Dec. 29, the biggest selloff in Indian shares in a year since 1993, when data became available. Reuters Graphics Reuters GraphicsThe second-worst FPI selloff was in 2008 at 529.87 billion rupees ($6.40 billion), which triggered a 51.79% fall on the Nifty 50 (.NSEI). Foreign funds purchased around 958.78 billion rupees worth of stocks in the second half of 2022, after being net sellers of shares worth 2,173.58 billion rupees in the first half. Reuters GraphicsDOMESTIC INVESTORS WEIGH INMeanwhile, domestic institutional investors net bought equities worth 2,734.60 billion rupees in 2022, their best year since data became available in 2008, according to National Stock Exchange.

BRUSSELS, Dec 22 (Reuters) - The European Commission said on Thursday it would hold back all 22 billion euros of EU cohesion funds for Hungary until its government meets conditions related to judiciary independence, academic freedoms, LGBTQI rights and the asylum system. The 22 billion euros is the amount of EU cohesion funds that Hungary is to get from the EU's long-term budget between 2021 and 2027. The 22 billion euros for Hungary are earmarked for programmes including education for disadvantaged children, rail transport upgrades, access to broadband and aid for regions affected by coal plant closures. We'll keep working with Hungarian authorities to overcome this situation," said Elisa Ferreira, EU Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms. On top of the cohesion funds, the EU is also holding back Hungary's 5.8 billion euros in grants from the EU's recovery fund until the government addresses concerns over the independence of courts.

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