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☆ Vice staffers fear salary and severance payments could be impacted as the company moves closer to bankruptcy
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Claire Atkinson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Vice is expected to file for bankruptcy, and some staffers fear salary or severance payments could be affected. The WGA East represents the Vice Union and said it will work to ensure members receive "everything owed." Vice has cut dozens of staff along with canceling its cable show "Vice News Tonight." Last month Vice said it was axing "Vice News Tonight," which once aired on HBO but shifted in 2019 to Vice's own cable channel, Vice TV. A second Vice insider said: "Hundreds of people lose their jobs and Shane gets his back?

☆ Exclusive: HSBC reaches deal to buy out China fund partner -sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( Selena Li | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

HONG KONG, May 8 (Reuters) - HSBC (HSBA.L) has agreed to buy out its China fund management joint venture partner, two people familiar with the matter said, as the Asia-focused bank pushes ahead with expansion in the world's second-largest economy. HSBC, which currently owns a 49% stake in HSBC Jintrust Fund Management, has signed an agreement with Shanxi Trust under which the Chinese state-owned company will sell its 51% holding in the joint venture to the bank, said the sources. Representatives for Shanghai-headquartered HSBC Jintrust and Shanxi Trust did not immediately respond to a request for comment. HSBC's move to boost its stake in the fund venture is the lender's latest to expand its presence in China. The London-headquartered bank converted its China insurance joint venture to a wholly-owned subsidiary in 2021, and boosted ownership of its China securities joint venture to 90% last year.

☆ Activist investor Peltz tells Cramer he's not pursuing Club name Estee Lauder
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( Zev Fima | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Jim said he called Peltz, founding partner of hedge fund Trian Fund Management, who denied having any interest in Estee Lauder. The founding Lauder family owns roughly 38% of Estee Lauder common stock and dominates 86% of the voting power . Moreover, we see no need for activism at Estee Lauder. Freda undoubtedly misjudged the pace of the travel retail recovery amid China's gradual economic reopening this year. An Estee Lauder pop-up store is seen inside daimaru Department Store on Nanjing Road Pedestrian street in Shanghai, China, August 6, 2021.

☆ Vice Media Nears Deal for $400 Million Sale Out of Bankruptcy
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Alexander Saeedy | Jodi Xu Klein | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Vice Media is nearing a deal for senior lenders including Fortress Investment Group and Soros Fund Management to acquire the troubled media company out of bankruptcy at a valuation of around $400 million, according to people familiar with the matter. Nearly every Vice stockholder—including backers such as private-equity firm TPG Group, Sixth Street Partners and media mogul James Murdoch—would be wiped out under the proposed reorganization, the people familiar with the matter said. Outstanding debts held by TPG and Sixth Street would also be impaired as part of the plan, the people said. The Murdoch family is a major shareholder in Journal parent News Corp .

It was the first earnings the Washington, D.C.-based firm reported after former Goldman Sachs Inc (GS.N) executive Harvey Schwartz was named CEO in February. That resulted in after tax distributable earnings per share of 63 cents, which underperformed the average analyst forecast of 69 cents, according to Refinitiv data. Last month, Blackstone Inc (BX.N), the world's largest private-equity firm, reported a 36% drop in first-quarter distributable earnings due to slower asset disposals, primarily in its real estate portfolio. Carlyle said its credit funds appreciated by 3%, while secondaries funds rose 5% and corporate private-equity funds gained 1%. Blackstone had said its corporate private-equity funds had appreciated by 2.8% while liquid credit funds gained 3%.

☆ China investment consensus cracks as politics fuel fears
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Tom Westbrook | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

It is unlikely to be resolved quickly even if the markets keep rallying and China economy keeps global growth ticking. Data paints a murky picture, but supports brokers' analysis that the bid from long-only money managers is absent. Allocation analysis from data firm EPFR shows a broad downtrend, especially to U.S.-domiciled China funds. EPFR figures show allocation to China funds outside the U.S. has increased for two years and mainland markets' recent performance has also been encouraging. "Our reservations about China's long-term investment prospects are based on our outlook for returns to capital."

FRANKFURT, April 26 (Reuters) - Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE) is undertaking its biggest management shake-up since 2019, the German bank said on Wednesday as it announced the departure of Christiana Riley, who oversaw its U.S. operations. "It is time to focus the management board on the next phase of the bank's growth strategy, which is now more than ever about sustainable profitability, efficiency and effective controls," Wynaendts said. Riley was one of two women on Deutsche's 10-member board, which will now only consist of only nine people - eight men and one woman - in what Deutsche said would be a "leaner" team. Claudio de Sanctis, a Deutsche veteran who has overseen wealth management, will join the board to oversee the retail bank, Deutsche said. And Chief Financial Officer James von Moltke will take on oversight of asset management, which includes its DWS fund management business.

Shares of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) have risen sharply since November, when top securities regulator Yi Huiman called for a new model to price them. Mainland-listed state telecom operators China Mobile and China Telecom have jumped more than 50% each this year and China Petroleum & Chemical Corp (600028.SS) has soared 44%, compared with a 5% gain in the benchmark index (.CSI300). More than 10 mutual fund companies have applied to launch nearly a score of SOE-dedicated funds since March, state media reported. E Fund Management Co this week launched a mutual fund, aiming to raise up to 8 billion yuan ($1.16 billion) to be ploughed into shares of strategically important SOEs. State companies' shares have so far outperformed the broader market, delivering what investors term a rare "SOE alpha".

☆ China funds flock to Hong Kong to sate mainland investors
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Summer Zhen | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

HONG KONG, April 20 (Reuters) - Large China-based fund managers are setting up shop in Hong Kong for the first time, seeking to fill Chinese investors' appetite for U.S. dollar-based products and international exposure after the country reopened its borders. As mainland-based funds are yuan denominated, fund managers need to set up in Hong Kong to be able to offer foreign currency products. "We are optimistic about Hong Kong as the global asset management hub. "Foreign managers are getting licenses and issuing funds in China - it's natural for us to go overseas," said Jason Yim, managing director of QX Asset Management in Hong Kong. Wealth management firms such as Noah Holdings (NOAH.N), China's largest independent wealth manager, are also aggressively expanding teams in Hong Kong.

☆ Allianz picks acceptable time to quit N26
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, April 19 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Allianz (ALVG.DE) is striking a blow for forlorn investors of privately held startups. While that would be a 68% discount to N26’s $9 billion valuation as of October 2021, Allianz’s exit route looks agreeably straightforward. N26 has enough cash to finance its operations until the end of 2024, when it is expected to reach profitability. The fight between banks for consumer deposits will force N26 to offer better interest rates for its customers, limiting its profit margin going foward. More to the point, Allianz doesn’t have to inform N26 of an intention to sell.

☆ Here are Tuesday's biggest analyst calls of the day: Apple, Amazon, UPS, Netflix, WW, Disney & more
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( Michael Bloom | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

Morgan Stanley names UnitedHealth a top pick Morgan Stanley says the healthcare company is best positioned in a recession. Morgan Stanley reiterates Netflix as equal weight Morgan Stanley said Netflix is the "streaming winner" but that it's "priced as such." Morgan Stanley downgrades Nasdaq to equal weight from overweight Morgan Stanley said that it has growth concerns for the exchange operator. JPMorgan upgrades Federated Hermes to overweight from underweight JPMorgan said the rate environment makes the capital market company's stock more attractive. Morgan Stanley upgrades AstraZeneca to overweight from equal weight Morgan Stanley said the pharmaceutical company is "leading the race" to outsmart cancer.

☆ Elon Musk says Warren Buffett should run the US Treasury - and the investor could do the job in under 1 hour per week
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( Theron Mohamed | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Elon Musk would prefer Warren Buffett to be US Treasury secretary instead of Janet Yellen. The Tesla chief said the Berkshire Hathaway boss could do the job in less than 1 hour per week. "Probably Buffett," Musk tweeted. "Any highly successful investor with a long track record would do a good job – the job is essentially fund management at scale," he added. As for Buffett, he's questioned Musk's Twitter habit in the past, and jokingly challenged the auto executive to take on Berkshire in the candy business.

☆ Ousted Marvel Entertainment Chairman Ike Perlmutter to retain Disney shares
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

April 5 (Reuters) - Marvel Entertainment's former chairman Ike Perlmutter on Wednesday said he will hold on to his Disney (DIS.N) shares, a week after reports of his termination from the role. Reuters reported last Wednesday that Disney had laid off Perlmutter, 80, as part of a cost-cutting campaign. News of Perlmutter's termination had come after he supported activist shareholder Nelson Peltz's unsuccessful bid to obtain a seat on Disney's corporate board. "Trian CEO Nelson Peltz has a long history of improving shareholder returns at many leading consumer businesses," Perlmutter said in a public statement on Wednesday. According to the WSJ report from earlier in the day, he owns about 30 million shares of Disney, worth about $3 billion.

☆ Another cultish cost-saving formula gets off-track
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( Jeffrey Goldfarb | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +9 min

Despite its multiple interpretations and approaches, success is widely gauged by a railway’s operating ratio, a simple measure of how much it spends to make a buck. Union Pacific’s peers improved similarly, indicative of the antiquated ways the industry had been deploying resources. Union Pacific also found itself unable to bring back enough furloughed workers in areas where they were most needed. “In a significant departure from the railroad industry's recent past, we deliberately moved away from a singular focus on operating ratio,” he told lawmakers. “If we wanted to drive [operating ratio] lower over time, we could,” the board wrote in a letter to shareholders in late 2021.

Hohn, who runs hedge fund TCI Fund Management, owns 3.1% of Cellnex's shares and 5.9% in derivatives, corporate records show. However, Hohn last month wrote to Airbus, in which TCI has a 3% stake, demanding it drop a deal. "We believe that the subsequent hiring process for a new CEO has been mishandled by the board and resulted in insufficient progress to recruiting a suitable replacement," Hohn wrote in the letter, published on TCI's website. "We intend to exercise our shareholder rights to request certain shareholder resolutions be added to the next AGM," the letter said. Kan was named Cellnex's chairman in 2021 and has been an independent member of the board since 2015.

☆ Hedge fund manager Nelson Peltz says the government should insure all bank deposits — for a price
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( Jesse Pound | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The federal government should expand its guarantee to all bank deposits regardless of size in order to slow bank runs, but it should charge customers for that insurance, hedge fund manager Nelson Peltz said Monday. The additional insurance premium would, for example, could come out of the CD interest payments on large deposits, Peltz said. The hedge fund manager is not the only person calling for raising the insurance threshold. Regional bank stocks were largely rebounding on Monday, though First Republic was still under pressure despite receiving $30 billion in deposits from other banks. Peltz said it was important to make changes to the deposit insurance program even if the current situation stabilizes.

REUTERS/Brian Snyder/File PhotoLONDON, March 15 (Reuters) - Investment managers Bridgewater Associates, Millennium Management and Marshall Wace added to short positions on European banking shares after the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank sparked contagion fears across global banks, according to data from Breakout Point. Short sellers had amassed bearish positions worth more than $15.7 billion against European banks by Tuesday, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence. Millennium Management, Citadel, Wellington Management, Capital Fund Management, Odey Asset Management and Marshall Wace declined to comment. Marshall Wace held the largest disclosed number of short positions against banks, public filings from Austria, Italy, Sweden, Britain, Spain and Poland analysed by Breakout Point showed. Its shares were up 18% at 1602 GMT, in a broader European banking index (.SX7P) up 1.4%In the week to Wednesday, some 120 billion euros had been wiped off the value of European bank shares.

The SFDR defines sustainable investment as contributing to "an environmental or social objective", assessed by indicators such as use of raw materials or production of waste. The people Reuters spoke to said discrepancies among fund portfolios reflected a lack of clarity from the Commission over what constitutes a sustainable investment. Reuters GraphicsReuters GraphicsTEMPERATURE GAUGEMSCI, the finance industry data provider, has developed a way of checking on investment funds' green credentials with its ESG Implied Temperature Rise tool. Among them, for example, are BlackRock's Sustainable Energy Fund, Nordea's Global Climate and Environment Fund and Pictet's Global Environmental Opportunities Fund. "The characterisation of what constitutes a sustainable investment under the SFDR is also a concept that needs further clarifications at European level."

☆ Bath & Body Works adds director, Third Point backs off proxy fight
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( Svea Herbst-Bayliss | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] Shoppers wait in line outside a Bath and Body Works retail store in Brooklyn, New York, U.S., December 8, 2020. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File PhotoNEW YORK, March 6 (Reuters) - Bath & Body Works Inc (BBWI.N) on Monday named veteran financial executive and board member Thomas Kuhn as a new director, ending a potential challenge from billionaire investor Daniel Loeb's hedge fund Third Point. "Tom’s 35 year history as a respected financial and legal advisor, including working with consumer companies, will bring an important perspective to Bath & Body Works as it focuses on its key strategic initiatives to maximize shareholder value," Bath & Body Works board chair Sarah Nash said in a statement. Bath & Body Works, which is valued at roughly $10 billion, has been operating as a standalone company since 2021. At Bath & Body Works the company was advised by law firm Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz, financial services company J.P. Morgan Chase & Co, proxy solicitor Innisfree M&A Inc and public relations firm Joele Frank.

☆ M&G would be a tricky hop for kangaroo raider
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Neil Unmack | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

LONDON, March 2 (Reuters Breakingviews) - M&G (MNG.L) would be a tricky hop for Macquarie (MQG.AX). The $48 billion Australian financial powerhouse may bid for the $6 billion UK insurer. The appeal is likely to be in the fund management group. Macquarie’s own asset management arm accounted for over 30% of net profit in the first half of its current financial year. Follow @Unmack1 on TwitterCONTEXT NEWSAustralian banking group Macquarie is considering a bid for UK insurance and asset management group M&G, Sky News reported on March 1.

☆ Big Investor Still Has a Beef With Wendy’s
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Spencer Jakab | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Wendy’s release of full-year earnings Wednesday brought little cause for cheer. While grabbing headlines at the moment for his pressure on Walt Disney , activist investor Nelson Peltz has held far more sway for far longer at burger chain Wendy’s . Last summer Mr. Peltz raised the prospect of the chain being sold or of his firm, Trian Fund Management, itself buying the approximately 80% of the shares it doesn’t yet own. Instead, Wendy’s announced a corporate redesign and doubled its dividend, sending the shares higher. It also announced an enlarged $500 million stock-buyback program.

☆ Alphabet's Waymo cuts 137 jobs in second round of layoffs this year
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 1 (Reuters) - Alphabet Inc's (GOOGL.O) self-driving technology unit, Waymo, laid off 137 employees in its second round of layoffs in 2023, the firm told Reuters on Wednesday. Including the latest job cuts, the division has let go of 8% of its workforce, or 209 employees, this year. Investors and industry watchers have been concerned as to how billions of dollars have been poured in the self-driving technology sector in a short span of time to commercialize it. Alphabet said in January it would slash 12,000 jobs, which will affect a large number of employees who support experimental projects. Reporting by Akash Sriram in Bengaluru and Abhirup Roy in San Francisco and David Shepardson; Editing by Shailesh Kuber and Shinjini GanguliOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

LONDON, Feb 28 (Reuters) - British asset manager abrdn (ABDN.L) fell to a full-year pretax loss and reported a slide in client funds for 2022, as global markets turmoil and runaway inflation weighed on its finances. Abrdn reported a 615 million pound ($741 million) pretax loss for the year ended Dec. 31, compared to a 1.1 billion pound profit the prior year. Abrdn's assets under management fell 8% to 500 billion pounds from 542 billion pounds, while the company reported a further year of net outflows of client funds. The company also said it had agreed to sell its discretionary fund management arm abrdn Capital to Liechtenstein-based private bank LGT for 140 million pounds. The sale involves the transfer of around 6.1 billion pounds of assets and about 140 employees, the company said.

☆ Revisiting JPMorgan’s innovative Cazenove deal
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( Peter Thal Larsen | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

JPMorgan avoided most of these problems by structuring its deal as a joint venture with Cazenove. Though the corporate entity called JPMorgan Cazenove was quietly wound down a few years ago, the name still graces the U.S. group’s UK banking business. At the time of the JPMorgan deal, Cazenove acted as broker to almost half of the companies in the FTSE 100 Index (.FTSE). By 2009, the enlarged business reported a pre-tax profit of 280 million pounds. The Cazenove deal still stands as a case study of how to buy an investment bank without destroying it.

☆ Hedge fund manager Chris Hohn demands Airbus drop Atos deal - letter
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-20 | by ( Nell Mackenzie | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Feb 20 (Reuters) - Hedge fund manager Christopher Hohn has written to Airbus (AIR.PA) demanding it drop a deal to purchase a minority stake in French IT consulting firm Atos' (ATOS.PA) soon-to-be spun-off division Evidian. Hohn, who runs hedge fund TCI Fund Management, owns over 3% of Airbus' shares worth more than 4 billion euros ($4.3 billion), the letter said. If successful, the deal would give Airbus some say over Evidian, which groups Atos' most coveted assets such as cybersecurity division BDS and supercomputers. Hohn, in the letter, said if the deal goes through Airbus should disclose what it would spend to pay down any debt or other liabilities of Atos. Airbus shares were down 2% in afternoon trading, while Atos' shares were down 0.3%.

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