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☆ Hedge funds bought financial stocks amid banking turmoil, says S&P
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Carolina Mandl | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NEW YORK, April 13 (Reuters) - Hedge funds increased their exposure to stocks in the financial sector amid the banking turmoil in March, as they saw a buying opportunity at lower prices, S&P Global Market Intelligence said in a note on Thursday. Hedge funds raised their exposure to financials more than any other sector, according to S&P, which tracks assets listed in the U.S.. Hedge funds added $13.5 billion in stocks in all sectors in March. Hedge funds' positioning in the banking sector came in a month when U.S. banks Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank failed, followed by Credit Suisse's rescue. Overall, the financials sector has not recovered from the losses.

☆ AlphaSense valued at $1.8 billion after CapitalG-backed fundraise
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

April 11 (Reuters) - AlphaSense said on Tuesday it has raised $100 million in a fresh round of funding backed by Alphabet's venture capital arm CapitalG that valued the market intelligence platform at $1.8 billion. Heightened volatility in the stock markets due to the U.S. Federal Reserve's monetary tightening have prompted companies to tap private investors as the appetite for public listings remains subdued. New York-based AlphaSense said it will use the funds to further its advanced artificial intelligence capabilities. Last year, the company was valued at $1.7 billion after raising $225 million. AlphaSense helps its customers extract relevant information from a trove of public and private content such as equity research, earnings calls, company filings and news.

☆ Private Equity’s Food Binge Goes Sour
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( Matt Wirz | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Private-equity funds went on a buying binge for food companies before markets crashed in 2022. Now they have indigestion that is contributing to rising prices at the grocery checkout. The funds snapped up a record 786 makers of food and beverages worth $32 billion in 2021, using bundles of debt to pay for their purchases, according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence. The financiers projected that staple goods would keep making profits no matter how the economy fared. But that forecast changed, with the food industry soon hammered by higher labor costs, supply-chain disruptions and surging inflation.

☆ Analysis: Heroes or villains: Short sellers' role in the U.S. bank crisis
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-09 | by ( Lawrence Delevingne | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

How much short sellers contributed to the downward spiral reprises the debate about whether so-called shorts are market watchdogs or opportunistic investors who profit from others’ misery. In the case of the banking crisis, a review of data and interviews with short sellers and their critics show, the answer may be both. Some high profile short sellers were later celebrated as making prophetic calls about the U.S. housing market. Even so, interviews and public postings show at least some short sellers had placed bets against regional banks well before the crisis hit. SHORT POSITIONSSuch early short sellers, however, were in the small minority.

☆ Wind and solar power generators wait in yearslong lines to put clean electricity on the grid, then face huge interconnection fees they can't afford
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( Catherine Clifford | In Catclifford | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +18 min

The local utility in charge of overseeing the interconnection process told Pine Gate it would be more than $30 million. Pine Gate had to terminate the project because it couldn't afford the new fees, its vice president of regulatory affairs, Brett White, told CNBC. "Those projects ended up withdrawing from the queue or terminating, because they don't pencil anymore," White told CNBC. "There is Texas, and then there's the rest of the country with respects to interconnection," White of Pine Gate told CNBC. And that means getting those engineers out of some of the rote manual data entry and into the actual analysis," White told CNBC.

Paying more for deposits is an effective way for banks to keep customers loyal, analysts said. Smaller banks, which were most strained by the recent crisis, have been able to stem the exodus of deposits for now, according to weekly from the Federal Reserve. That said, the Fed’s data showed deposits at smaller banks were still down some $216 billion during the week ending March 22 from a December high. Meanwhile, large U.S. banks lost out on $96.2 billion in deposits in the week ending March 22, the Fed data showed. Deposits at large banks dropped some $519 billion from as high as $11.2 trillion in February last year.

☆ UK service firms report second month of growth as prospects improve -PMI
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Adding to signs of recovery in the economy, Wednesday's final reading of the S&P Global/CIPS UK Services Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) of 52.9 was below February's 53.5 but above the 50 mark denoting growth for a second month in a row. It was also a touch higher than a preliminary March reading of 52.8 and contrasted with a more downbeat picture for the smaller manufacturing sector last month. The PMI showed business expectations improved for a fifth straight month and optimism about business prospects was the highest since March last year. S&P Global's input price index showed growth in costs was the slowest since May 2021. Although still high by historical standards, that represented welcome news for the BoE which is worried about the persistence of the recent surge in inflation.

☆ Japan's March service-sector grows at fastest rate in over nine years - PMI
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

April 5 (Reuters) - Japan's services sector activity at the fastest pace in over nine years in March, a private sector survey showed on Wednesday, suggesting that the post-COVID bounce was gathering steam and providing some offset to a still-weak factory sector. The final au Jibun Bank Japan Services purchasing managers' index (PMI) rose to a seasonally adjusted 55.0 last month, from February's 54.0, marking the quickest rate of expansion since October 2013. The subindexes of new orders and overseas demand grew for a seventh month, rising at the fastest pace since February 2019 and December 2022, respectively. The subindex for employment expanded for a second month and at the fastest pace in ten months, as workloads and business expansion plans increased. The composite PMI, which combines the manufacturing and services figures, grew at the fastest pace since June 2022.

☆ How FDIC dropped the ball and picked up the tab
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( John Foley | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

NEW YORK, April 4 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Bank watchdogs don’t have a crystal ball when it comes to spotting bank runs. The FDIC is one of several agencies that watches over American banks, but it’s the one that picks up the tab when a lender fails. Gruenberg, on the FDIC board since 2005, did not support the rapid phased prototyping data project, fretting that it amounted to outsourcing supervision, according to people familiar with the situation. For all but the biggest banks, the FDIC continues to rely on quarterly snapshots known as “call reports,” and the findings of its on-the-ground inspectors. Reuters GraphicsThe death of the 2020 project – and the fact it didn’t start years sooner – reflect deeper challenges at the FDIC.

☆ Micron Revives Some of Its Worst Memories
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( Dan Gallagher | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Even during sharp downturns, chip makers can’t fully shut down all their fabrication facilities. Micron Technology Inc.’s latest results give new meaning to the phrase “darkest before the dawn.”The memory-chip maker said late Tuesday that fiscal second-quarter revenue plunged 53% from a year earlier to about $3.7 billion. That follows a 47% drop the previous quarter, and the company projected a 57% slide for the current period that ends in May. The memory business has long been one of volatile swings, but Micron hasn’t seen a sustained sales downturn of the same degree since the industry was reeling from the dot-com crash in 2001, according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence. Operating losses were also $2.3 billion—the most Micron has ever lost in a single quarter.

☆ UK oil, gas firms to leave year's worth of output in ground with tax hikes-report
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

"When we talk about investment in the UK oil and gas resources, it's not about exponential growth, it's about managed decline," Dornan said. Any fresh incentives for oil producers are likely to be decried by climate activists, not least since Britain experienced an oil leak over the weekend at Anglo-French oil company Wytch Farm's onshore field in Dorset. Britain's biggest oil and gas producer, Harbour , has announced job cuts and shunned the latest licensing round. TotalEnergies (TTEF.PA) cut its UK investment programme by a quarter. Reuters Graphics Reuters GraphicsReuters Graphics Reuters GraphicsBritain's oil and gas production($1 = 0.8166 pounds)Reporting by Shadia Nasralla; Editing by Sharon SingletonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

SummarySummary Companies European banks, bonds, CDS sell offDeutsche Bank CDS rise to highest since late 2018Confidence hurt, outlook dimsLONDON, March 24 (Reuters) - Confidence in European banks deteriorated further on Friday, with the cost of insuring against a debt default rising sharply as the profit outlook for the sector dimmed. Deutsche Bank's (DBKGn.DE) five-year credit default swaps (CDS) jumped 19 basis points (bps) from Thursday's close to 222 bps, rising to their highest since late 2018, data from S&P Global Market Intelligence showed. The prospect that interest rates may be close to peaking, as financial markets are signalling, would also curb banks' profit margins on lending. BOND WATCHEuropean banks' Additional Tier 1 (AT1) debt came under fresh selling pressure, with Deutsche AT1 prices down 6 cents, according to Tradeweb data. The selloff in AT1s highlighted concerns about rising funding costs for European banks and helped explain why the sector was facing renewed pressure on Friday, analysts said.

☆ European banks face renewed selling pressure
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +8 min

So people are acting with their feet and continuing to sell bank stocks. ING ECONOMICS TEAM (emailed) "Most European banks are impacted by these events mainly via the more cautious market sentiment. "It seems like post what happened to Credit Suisse last weekend, two things might be at play here. “European banks probably suffered from contagion from what was going on in the US, where the regional banks seem to be under pressure in the rising rate environment. European banks have, in fact, had no fundamental issues whatsoever.

☆ European banks default-risk indicator jumps, AT1 bonds fall
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Deutsche Bank's (DBKGn.DE) five-year credit default swaps (CDS) jumped 19 basis points (bps) from Thursday's close to 222 bps, data from S&P Global Market Intelligence showed. UBS's (UBSG.S) five-year CDS also shot up 14 bps from Thursday's close to 130 bps, the data showed. European banks' Additional Tier 1 (AT1) debt also came under fresh selling pressure, with Deutsche and UBS AT1s down around four and two cents in price, respectively, according to Tradeweb data. Although European regulators and authorities in Asia have said this week they would continue to impose losses on shareholders before bondholders - unlike the treatment of bondholders at Credit Suisse - unease lingers. Reporting by Chiara Elisei and Amanda Cooper; Writing by Dhara Ranasinghe; Editing by Susan FentonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Euro zone services sector resurging as economic fears ease: economist
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-24 | 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 EmailEuro zone services sector resurging as economic concerns ease and travel picks up: economistChris Williamson, chief business economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence, says the latest flash euro zone PMI figures show resurgent growth in the services sector, but "manufacturing is a stagnant picture."

The fresh price falls in Europe came as investors were looking to see how far U.S. authorities would go to shore up the banking sector, particularly fragile regional lenders. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo 1 2CDS surge on banking sector turmoilUBS CHALLENGESThe global banking sector has been shaking since the sudden collapse this month of SVB and Signature Bank. But the worries spread quickly, and on Sunday UBS (UBSG.S) was rushed into taking over Swiss rival Credit Suisse after it lost the confidence of investors. Separate sources told Reuters that UBS has promised retention packages to Credit Suisse wealth management staff in Asia to stem a talent exodus. Standard Chartered (STAN.L) Chief Executive Bill Winters said on Friday the wipeout of Credit Suisse bondholders had "profound" implications for global bank regulations.

☆ Deutsche Bank shares whipsaw after CDS blow-out
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON/FRANKFURT, March 24 (Reuters) - Deutsche Bank shares (DBKGn.DE) dropped as much as 3.4% in Friday's premarket trade, after a sharp jump in the cost of insuring against the risk of default late the day before fuelled concerns about the overall stability of Europe's banks. Deutsche shares, which have lost a fifth of their value so far this month already, were last indicated up 0.9% in premarket trade on the Lang & Schwartz platform. They closed 3.2% lower on Thursday, while the bank's credit default swaps - a form of insurance for bondholders - shot up to 173 basis points from 142 bps the day before, according to data from S&P Market Intelligence on Thursday. This marks the largest one-day rise in Deutsche's CDS on record, according to Refinitiv data. Reporting by Amanda Cooper; Editing by Dhara RanasingheOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ 'This is not the financial crisis': Banks are OK, but investing in them right now is risky, analysts say
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Ryan Ermey | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Most analysts say what happened earlier isn't likely to spread across the banking sector and cause a full-blown meltdown. 'Banks are OK' — SVB and Signature were 'unique' failuresWhat happened at Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank could theoretically happen anywhere if depositors get worried enough about the safety of their money. Both banks catered to volatile industries that needed cash quickly — tech startups for SVB and crypto-related companies in the case of Signature. Nathan Stovall head of financial institutions research at S&P Global Market Intelligence"It was really those unique characteristics that led to those issues," says Nathan Stovall, head of financial institutions research at S&P Global Market Intelligence. Investors have since bid down shares of other banks — First Republic among them — whose profiles bear resemblance to SVB and Signature.

The Credit Suisse rescue has shaken the European banking sector and fears of wider fallout remain. Under the Credit Suisse rescue deal, 16 billion Swiss francs worth of Credit Suisse Additional Tier 1 debt will be written down to zero on the orders of the Swiss regulator. Overall, bank debt remained under pressure, with the cost of insuring exposure to the debt rising in the credit default swaps (CDS) market. CONTAGION RISKThe wipeout of AT1 bonds in the Credit Suisse rescue has alerted fixed income investors to the risks of investing in these instruments. At Credit Suisse, the bank's AT1 bonds were bid as low as 1 cent on the dollar on Monday as investors braced for the wipeout.

In a package engineered by Swiss regulators on Sunday, UBS Group AG (UBSG.S) will pay 3 billion Swiss francs ($3.2 billion) for 167-year-old Credit Suisse Group AG <CSGN.S>, which was once worth more than $90 billion. European bank shares inched into positive territory (.SX7P) while shares in U.S. financial giants Citigroup (C.N) and JPMorgan Chase (JPM.N) rose 1.2% and 0.7% respectively. Investor focus had shifted to the massive blow some Credit Suisse bondholders will take, a new worry in a rolling banking sector crisis sparked by the collapse of midsize-U.S. lenders Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and Signature Bank (SBNY.O) earlier this month. [1/2] Buildings of Swiss banks UBS and Credit Suisse are seen on the Paradeplatz in Zurich, Switzerland March 20, 2023. QUESTIONS FOR UBSThe deal to buy Credit Suisse will make UBS Switzerland’s only global bank and the Swiss economy more dependent on a single lender.

In a package engineered by Swiss regulators on Sunday, UBS will pay 3 billion Swiss francs ($3.23 billion) for 167-year-old Credit Suisse Group AG (CSGN.S) and assume up to $5.4 billion in losses. Investor focus has now shifted to the massive blow some Credit Suisse bondholders will take, adding to anxiety about other banking sector risks including contagion and the fragile state of U.S. regional lenders. UBS acquiring Credit Suisse for 3 billion francs a week ago would have seemed like a terrific deal. Buildings of Swiss banks UBS and Credit Suisse are seen on the Paradeplatz in Zurich, Switzerland March 20, 2023. QUESTIONS FOR UBSThe deal to buy Credit Suisse will make UBS Switzerland’s only global bank and the Swiss economy more dependent on a single lender.

☆ France's OVH expands into India amid growing cloud adoption
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( Olivier Sorgho | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

March 20 (Reuters) - French software firm OVHcloud (OVH.PA) has launched its first data centre in India as it expands in the Asia-Pacific region aiming to capitalise on growing cloud adoption amid heightened concerns over data privacy, it said on Monday. The new data centre in Mumbai will provide Indian businesses with local computer and storage infrastructure to meet changing data compliance needs as India digitalises and pushes for more data protection, OVH said. "The Indian market is a very...fast-growing market," CEO Michel Paulin told Reuters, adding OVH had already sold a few hundred servers. "We will continue to recruit in India," Paulin said, adding OVH had created jobs last year in Mumbai to prepare the launch and implement the technical infrastructure. But the need for digital and cloud solutions was still there, Paulin said.

LONDON, March 20 (Reuters) - European bank bonds slumped on Monday following the state-backed rescue of Credit Suisse (CSGN.S) by UBS (UBSG.S) as a wipeout of some bondholders raised concerns around broader bank capital and also hammered bank shares. "The takeover of Credit Suisse by UBS was done fast and should have provided reassurance to the market that we haven’t had another bank collapse. However, what it has done is exposed the issues around AT1 bonds,” said Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell. In the bond market, Credit Suisse's Additional Tier 1 (AT1) bonds were bid as low as 1 cent on the dollar on Monday as investors braced for the wipeout. Shares in Credit Suisse (CSGN.S) fell as much as 64.5% while UBS Group (UBSG.S) shares dropped as much as 16%.

First Republic Bank was forced to seek a lifeline this week, receiving tens of billions of dollars from other banks. These are known as unrealized losses — they turn into real losses only if the banks have to sell the assets. +2 % 0 –4 First Republic Pacific Western Signature −8 Plotted quarterly ’19 ’20 ’21 ’22 ’19 ’20 ’21 ’22 ’19 ’20 ’21 ’22 +2 % 0 –4 Silicon Valley Western Alliance Zions −8 ’19 ’20 ’21 ’22 ’19 ’20 ’21 ’22 ’19 ’20 ’21 ’22 +2 % 0 First Republic Pacific Western Signature –4 −8 Plotted quarterly ’19 ’20 ’21 ’22 ’19 ’20 ’21 ’22 ’19 ’20 ’21 ’22 +2 % 0 Silicon Valley Western Alliance Zions –4 −8 ’19 ’20 ’21 ’22 ’19 ’20 ’21 ’22 ’19 ’20 ’21 ’22 +2 % 0 First Republic Pacific Western Signature –4 −8 Plotted quarterly ’19 ’20 ’21 ’22 ’19 ’20 ’21 ’22 ’19 ’20 ’21 ’22 +2 % 0 Silicon Valley Western Alliance Zions –4 −8 ’19 ’20 ’21 ’22 ’19 ’20 ’21 ’22 ’19 ’20 ’21 ’22 Source: Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council Note: Includes both “held-to-maturity” and “available-for-sale” securities, meaning both long- and short-term investments. Banks’ cash and noncash assets Plotted quarterly $200 billion Pacific Western Signature 150 100 First Republic 50 0 ’19 ’20 ’21 ’22 ’19 ’20 ’21 ’22 ’19 ’20 ’21 ’22 $200 billion Western Alliance Zions 150 100 50 Silicon Valley 0 ’19 ’20 ’21 ’22 ’19 ’20 ’21 ’22 ’19 ’20 ’21 ’22 Banks’ cash and noncash assets $200 billion Pacific Western Signature 150 100 50 First Republic 0 ’19 ’20 ’21 ’22 ’19 ’20 ’21 ’22 ’19 ’20 ’21 ’22 $200 billion Western Alliance Zions 150 100 50 Silicon Valley 0 ’19 ’20 ’21 ’22 ’19 ’20 ’21 ’22 ’19 ’20 ’21 ’22 Source: Federal Financial Institutions Examination CouncilMidsize banks like SVB do not have the same regulatory oversight as the nation’s biggest banks, who, among other provisions, are subject to tougher requirements to have a certain amount of reserves in moments of crisis. Last weekend, the Fed announced a program that offers loans of up to one year to banks using the banks’ government bonds and certain other assets as collateral.

The boost was shortlived and fears of a banking crisis gripped the market on Friday, with shares of First Republic Bank (FRC.N), which also suspended its dividend payout, dropping 24.5%. The KBW regional banking index (.KRX) and the S&P 500 banks index (.SPXBK) fell over 9% each in the week. Investors are now looking ahead to the Federal Reserve's interest rate decision, due next week, to gauge how it will tame inflation. Money market participants now see a 67% chance of the Fed raising rates by 25 basis points on March 22. . Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 5.46-to-1 ratio on the NYSE by a 3.56-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

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