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☆ TJX sees weak annual profit as costs bite
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Feb 22 (Reuters) - TJX Cos Inc (TJX.N) forecast annual profit below Wall Street expectations on Wednesday, as the off-price retailer's margins take a hit from persisting supply chain costs and inflationary pressures. TJX, which has been battling higher freight and labor costs due to persistent global supply chain disruptions, the Russia-Ukraine war and surging inflation, had selectively increased prices from fiscal 2022 on some products. The discount store operator now expects full-year adjusted profit per share between $3.29 and $3.41, compared with analysts' estimates of $3.57, according to IBES data from Refinitiv. The company's net sales rose to $14.52 billion from $13.85 billion in the fourth quarter, beating analysts' estimates of $14.07 billion. Reporting by Aatrayee Chatterjee and Ananya Mariam Rajesh in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju SamuelOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Though the reasons for Bao's disappearance are unclear, his case follows a series of incidents in which high-profile executives in China have gone missing with little explanation during a sweeping anti-corruption campaign spearheaded by President Xi Jinping. China Renaissance said on Thursday in a stock exchange filing that it had no information that Bao's "unavailability" was related to its business, and that its operations were continuing normally. A spokesperson for Beijing-based China Renaissance declined to comment on specific details and referred Reuters to its exchange filing made on Thursday. "What happened to China Renaissance highlighted the key man risk with some Chinese companies," Li Nan, professor of Finance at Shanghai Jiaotong University, said. key man risk generally refers to the threat posed to a company from over-reliance on a limited number of personnel for decision making.

Feb 21 (Reuters) - TJX Cos Inc (TJX.N) is likely to see a strong growth in annual sales as inflation pushes bargain-hungry but brand-conscious customers to off-price retailers offering cheaper deals and promotions. A case in point is Nordstrom Inc (JWN.N), which cut its annual profit forecast after its off-price store chain Rack failed to attract people despite heavy discounting due to inventory mismanagement. Jessica Ramirez, analyst at Jane Hali and Associates, said TJX is in tune with what the customer is shopping for and are interested. "TJX is very strong with their assortment ... they have been able to bring a lot of good names into their product offerings," she said. Reporting by Ananya Mariam Rajesh and Aatrayee Chatterjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun KoyyurOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Warburg has approached a number of Chinese investors including local government-backed entities and state-backed financial institutions for the new yuan fund, the people with knowledge of the matter said. The U.S. private equity (PE) firm plans to primarily focus on the healthcare and industrial technology sectors in China with the yuan fund, one of the people said. "RMB (yuan) funds are relatively independent and self-sustainable," he said. Sensitive sectors will remain closed to global private equity groups even if they raise yuan funds, she added. Emerging markets-focused Affirma Capital is also targeting a 2 billion yuan raising in its debut fund and reached first close at 1.5 billion yuan by end-2022, a person close to the situation said.

☆ Factbox: Chinese business tycoons, executives who disappeared from public view
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Following is a list of some other high-profile Chinese executives who have abruptly gone missing from public view in recent years. Three months later, On Nov. 27, the company said Yang had resumed his duties after assisting an investigation in China. Shares and bonds related to CEFC China Energy plunged on the news, which was first reported by Chinese magazine Caixin. Chinese financial regulators in 2020 took over brokerages, trust companies and insurers linked to the group. Reporting by Brenda Goh and Xie Yu; Editing by Sumeet Chatterjee and Sonali PaulOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

SYDNEY/HONG KONG, Feb 20 (Reuters) - New rules laying out how Chinese companies can list outside mainland China will often mean getting a nod from several domestic government agencies, potentially making for a lengthy approval process, investment bankers say. On one hand, the rules provide clarity after a regulatory crackdown by Beijing since mid-2021 that has slowed U.S. listings by Chinese firms to a trickle. Those hoops, combined with U.S.-Sino tensions over a multitude of issues from suspected spy balloons to trade friction, means a rush of Chinese firms seeking initial public offerings in New York is unlikely. Last year, U.S. listings of Chinese firms were worth less than $230 million, according to Refinitiv data, a massive drop from $12.9 billion in 2021. "I don't think an overseas listing for the start-up would get the Chinese regulatory nod due to data security.

Feb 17 (Reuters) - Chinese dealmaker Bao Fan, founder of investment bank China Renaissance Holdings Ltd (1911.HK), has gone missing in the latest disappearance of a top business executive, unnerving investors and sending its stock down as much as 50% on Friday. A China Renaissance spokesperson referred Reuters request for comment on Friday to the investment bank's public filing. The firm earned $20.6 million in Chinese related investment banking fees in 2022, down from $43.13 million a year earlier, the data showed. Bao started China Renaissance in 2005 as a two-person team, seeking to match capital-hungry startups with venture capitalist and private equity investors. China Renaissance is also an active investor in the tech sector.

☆ Factbox: Five facts about missing star Chinese dealmaker and his firm
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-18 | by ( Xie Yu | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

HONG KONG, Feb 18 (Reuters) - Well-known Chinese dealmaker Bao Fan, founder of investment bank China Renaissance Holdings Ltd (1911.HK), has gone missing in the latest disappearance of a top business executive in the country, unnerving investors. Here are five facts about Bao and his firm --* Bao entered China's prestigious Fudan University in 1989, and later received his master's degree from the BI Norwegian School of Management. Its investment management business has assets worth around 48.6 billion yuan by the end of last June. * The firm is currently ranked ninth on China's equity capital markets league table for 2023, according to Refinitiv. It earned $20.6 million in Chinese related investment banking fees in 2022, down from $43.13 million a year earlier.

[1/3] Indian billionaire Gautam Adani speaks during an interview with Reuters at his office in the western Indian city of Ahmedabad April 2, 2014. Last week, the group's flagship entity Adani Enterprises (ADEL.NS) pulled its secondary share offering, India's largest ever, because of the sharp selloff. Adani has said Monarch was selected for previous share sales "for their credentials and ability to tap into the retail market". On Elara, Adani has said "innuendoes" that the firm was in any manner related to the conglomerate founders were incorrect. The federal corporate affairs ministry, responsible for regulating Indian businesses, has briefed officials in Modi's office and been in touch with SEBI, the market regulator, one of the officials said.

It is rare for investors to take short positions in securities of Indian companies. Securities rules in India also make it hard to quietly build short positions. Institutional investors are obliged to disclose their short positions upfront and there are other restrictions and registration requirements on foreign investors. In Adani, for example, Hindenburg held the short positions through U.S.-traded bonds and non-Indian-traded derivatives. China's strict investment rules make it all but impossible to take short positions in domestic-listed Chinese stocks from overseas.

☆ OZ Minerals' $6.6 billion buyout by BHP gets Brazil's approval
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Feb 6 (Reuters) - Australian copper and gold producer OZ Minerals (OZL.AX) on Monday said its A$9.6 billion ($6.61 billion) buyout by BHP Group (BHP.AX) received approval from Brazilian competition regulator the Administrative Council for Economic Defence. OZ Minerals on Dec. 22 entered a scheme implementation deed with the world's largest listed miner, BHP, to proceed formally with the takeover. The scheme still remains subject to other conditions, including approval by an Australian court and OZ Minerals' shareholders, who are expected to vote on it in early April, the copper-gold miner said in a statement. ($1 = 1.4520 Australian dollars)Reporting by Rishav Chatterjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Diane Craft and Mark PorterOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ China's latest IPO reform unlikely to flood markets with new issuance, bankers say
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Under the new system, China's stock exchanges will themselves vet IPOs with a focus on information disclosure. The reform was hailed by state media and analysts as a key milestone that would make China's IPO market more inclusive, transparent and efficient. "Paternalism and politics continue to play a big role" in the new IPO system, he said. STAR SYSTEMThe registration-based IPO system was first adopted by Shanghai's STAR Market when the tech-focused board was launched in 2019. The new IPO system was later rolled out to the start-up board ChiNext, and the Beijing Stock Exchange.

But the market turmoil led its flagship Adani Enterprises (ADEL.NS) to abandon a $2.5 billion secondary share offering on Wednesday, prompting concerns at lenders. 1 lender, SBI says the bank has about 270 billion rupees ($3.3 billion) in loans to Adani Group. Bank debt forms 38% of the total debt of 2.1 trillion rupees at the top five Adani companies, according to a Jefferies report. Senior executives at six other Indian lenders, with exposure to Adani companies, told Reuters they had also decided to tighten the credit approval process for Adani. India's central bank has asked local banks for details of their exposure to Adani companies, Reuters reported on Thursday, citing government and banking sources.

☆ Analysts stand by Apple, say iPhone maker's 'flywheel keeps spinning' despite disappointing earnings
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( Samantha Subin | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Analysts aren't giving up on Apple despite the tech giant's near-term headwinds. Sales for the holiday-quarter were also 5% lower over last year, representing the company's first year-over-year decline since 2019. "Despite near-term macro and supply headwinds, the Apple flywheel keeps spinning," said Morgan Stanley's Erik Woodring, who retained his price target and overweight rating. AAPL 5D mountain Apple falls after disappointing earnings But Apple isn't out of the macro woods just yet, according to some analysts. "On the other, numbers are being reset, and investors may begin to look forward to a better 2024, akin to 2019, when Apple last saw revenues decline."

☆ Citigroup wealth unit stops margin loans against India Adani's securities - source
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SINGAPORE, Feb 2 (Reuters) - Citigroup's (C.N) wealth unit has stopped extending margin loans to its clients against securities of India's embattled Adani group, a source with direct knowledge of the matter said, as the conglomerate reels from a short-seller attack. The group's flagship firm Adani Enterprises (ADEL.NS) called off its $2.5 billion share sale in a dramatic reversal on Wednesday as a rout sparked by the U.S. short-seller's criticisms wiped billions more off the value of the Indian tycoon's stocks. Citi's wealth unit decided to cut the loan-to-value ratio for credit against Adani securities to zero on Thursday, said the source, who declined to be named due to the sensitivity of the matter. Citi declined to comment. Reporting by Anshuman Daga; Editing by Sumeet Chatterjee and Muralikumar AnantharamanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

The port-to-property group, led by Gautam Adani, one of the world's richest people, has denied the allegations and called them baseless, adding it has always made the necessary regulatory disclosures. "But from an offshore investor's perspective the allegations (made by Hindenburg) ... do not seem to be clearly addressed," he said. The U.S. short-seller has said Adani's "response largely confirmed our findings and ignored our key questions." Australia's corporate regulator said on Wednesday it would review the Hindenburg report as concerns raised also relate to Adani's Australian operations. Adani Enterprises lost nearly 6% on Wednesday to bring its losses since the Hindenburg report to more than $8 billion.

☆ S&P downgrades Hungary's ratings to 'BBB-/A-3', outlook 'stable'
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Jan 27 (Reuters) - Credit ratings agency S&P on Friday cut Hungary's long- and short-term foreign and local currency ratings to 'BBB-/A-3' from 'BBB/A-2', citing persistently high inflation and external pressures. The ratings agency revised its outlook to "stable" from "negative" on expectations that Hungary's economy will avoid a substantial economic downturn over the next two years and weather the indirect effects of the Russia-Ukraine war. S&P expects the Hungarian government, which has pledged to reduce the 2023 budget shortfall to 3.9% of gross domestic product, to gradually reduce fiscal deficits over the next few years. Last week, Fitch cut its outlook on Hungary's long-term foreign currency issuer default rating to "negative" from "stable". Reporting by Aatrayee Chatterjee and Richard Rohan Francis in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj KalluvilaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Chatterjee: U.S. LNG is so important to the European energy equation
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | 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 EmailChatterjee: U.S. LNG is so important to the European energy equationFormer FERC chairman Neil Chatterjee discusses whether Europe is really out of the woods with its energy crisis, and why nuclear power isn't being considered more as a feasible alternative to oil, gas and coal.

☆ South32 sees shipping delays tying up cash in inventory
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MELBOURNE, Jan 23 (Reuters) - Australian diversified miner South32 Ltd (S32.AX) on Monday reported production of key commodities that largely met expectations but noted that shipping snarls had led to an inventory buildup, impacting working capital. In its quarterly report, South32 met coal, aluminium and copper forecasts and slightly exceeded analyst estimates for manganese ore production, for which it is the world's biggest producer. "While production was inline, sales were impacted, leading to weaker-than-expected cash generation," said analyst Glyn Lawcock of Barrenjoey in Sydney. "This impact is most acute in our aluminium value chain in Southern Africa due to ongoing shipping delays." In manganese ore, South32 reported 1,477 kilotonnes (kt) of production, ahead of an RBC estimate by 7%.

☆ A look at the companies behind the pricey 'Crypto Bowl' ads, then vs. now, as Super Bowl LVII approaches
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-21 | by ( Aaron Mcdade | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Super Bowl LVI was dubbed the "Crypto Bowl" after ads from crypto companies made a splash. The larger crypto industry suffered billions in losses in 2022, highlighted by the collapse of FTX. But in 2022, the game was dubbed the "Crypto Bowl," with FTX, Coinbase, Crypto.com, and eToro all debuting ads, along with Bud Light incorporating NFTs into its ad. Here's a look back at how the four companies who advertised during the last Super Bowl are doing now. Compared to FTX, other crypto companies that advertised during the Super Bowl had a remarkably stable year given volatility in the industry, but each had its troubles.

☆ Indonesia says BASF, Eramet near $2.6 bln deal to process nickel for EV batteries
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] A logo is seen on the facade of the BASF plant and former Ciba production site in Schweizerhalle near Basel July 7, 2009. Indonesia's investment ministry cited BASF chief executive Martin Brudermüller as saying the project investment would be worth around 2.4 billion euros ($2.59 billion). Eramet spokeswoman Fanny Mounier said the project was subject to a final investment decision and further details would be disclosed if a decision was made. The planned plant would produce mixed hydroxide precipitate (MHP) from nickel through a high-pressure acid leach (HPAL) plant. Investment into MHP production in Indonesia has so far been dominated by Chinese companies such as Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt and Tsingshan Holding Group.

SHANGHAI/HONG KONG, Jan 19 (Reuters) - Chinese brokerages are in a race to raise billions of dollars in capital to meet regulatory requirements, jumping on a market upturn to bolster operations as they brace for tougher competition from Wall Street banks on their home turf. The brokerages need fresh capital to meet Chinese risk management rules, and finance capital-intensive businesses such as margin financing and market-making, having weathered volatile markets in the last couple of years. Chinese brokerages raised just 77 billion yuan via follow-up share sales last year, Refinitiv data showed. "Securities firms need capital to transform their business model by reducing reliance on traditional businesses." Chinese brokerages face stiffer competition after Beijing allowed Western banks, including Morgan Stanley (MS.N), Goldman Sachs (GS.N) and Credit Suisse (CSGN.S), to take full control of their China brokerage units.

☆ U.S. holiday sales miss estimates as inflation drags demand: NRF
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Jan 18 (Reuters) - U.S. holiday sales rose by 5.3%, but fell short of estimates, as shoppers feeling the brunt of stubbornly high inflation pulled forward purchases to October when retailers offered hefty discounts, data from the National Retail Federation (NRF) showed on Wednesday. The leading retail industry group said including e-commerce, holiday sales jumped to $936.3 billion during November and December, missing its forecast of a rise of between 6% and 8% over 2021. "We knew it could be touch-and-go for final holiday sales given early shopping in October that likely pulled some sales forward plus price pressures and cold, stormy weather,” NRF Chief Economist Jack Kleinhenz said. However, the Commerce Department said on Wednesday that retail sales dropped 1.1% in December putting consumer spending and the overall economy on a weaker growth path heading into 2023 as shoppers pulled forward holiday purchases into October. However, online holiday sales grew at the slowest pace as customers felt the brunt of rising prices.

☆ BASF, Eramet near $2.6 bln Indonesia deal to process nickel for EV batteries
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

JAKARTA, Jan 18 (Reuters) - Germany's BASF (BASFn.DE) and French miner Eramet (ERMT.PA) are finalising a $2.6 billion partnership deal to invest in a facility in Indonesia to process nickel for use in batteries for electric vehicles, Indonesian officials said. The project investment would be worth around 2.4 billion euros ($2.59 billion), the investment ministry said, citing BASF chief executive Martin Brudermüller. BASF and Eramet's investment plan was in line with the government's "aspirations to set up Indonesia as world-class EV player," said Investment Minister Bahlil Lahadalia. Indonesia is also finalising agreements with Chinese automaker BYD Group and Tesla (TSLA.O) to invest in EV production facilities, a senior cabinet minister said on Tuesday. Investment into MHP production in Indonesia has so far been dominated by Chinese companies such as Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt and Tsingshan Holding Group.

The leading retail industry group said including e-commerce, holiday sales which is not adjusted for inflation jumped to $936.3 billion during November and December. It had previously forecast a rise of between 6% and 8% over 2021 to between $942.6 billion and $960.4 billion. Separately, the Commerce Department said on Wednesday that retail sales dropped 1.1% in December putting consumer spending and the overall economy on a weaker growth path heading into 2023. According to the NRF, online and other non-store sales were up 9.5% at $261.6 billion, which fell short of its forecast of a 10% to 12% growth. During the holiday period, furniture and home furnishings stores saw sales drop 1.1%, while electronics and appliance sales fell 5.7% - the only two categories that saw a decline in the season.

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