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☆ Factbox: What are FTX's investors saying?
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Here's what investors in FTX are saying now:SOFTBANKThe total investment of SoftBank Group Corp's (9984.T) Vision Fund in the U.S. and international operations of FTX is less than $100 million, a source close to SoftBank said on Friday. The complications at FTX mark the latest difficulty for the Vision Fund, which has been hit in recent quarters by a global tech rout. SEQUOIA CAPITALSequoia Capital said on Wednesday that it would mark down its total investments in FTX to $0. ONTARIO TEACHERS PENSION PLANThe Ontario Teachers Pension Plan (OTPP) said on Thursday it had invested a total of $95 million in FTX. CIRCLEFintech company Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire said in a tweet on Wednesday that "Circle is a tiny equity holder of FTX, and FTX is a tiny equity holder of Circle."

☆ Apple will 'take years' to diversify away from China, says Counterpoint Research
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( Sheila Chiang | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

A display of iPhone 14 smartphones at the Apple Inc. Regent Street store in London, UK. Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesApple will take years to diversify from its Chinese factories, even as the country presses on with its zero Covid policy which is hurting iPhone production, according to Counterpoint Research's Jeff Fieldhack. "It will take years for Apple to diversify," the research director told CNBC's "Squawk Box Asia" Tuesday, explaining that Apple's latest iPhones will likely continue to be built in China for the next few years. In a statement on Sunday, Apple said that it temporarily reduced iPhone 14 production as its primary iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max assembly plant in Zhengzhou, China is operating at "significantly reduced capacity" due to Covid-19 restrictions. Apple has been diversifying its device assembly process away from China and opening factories in countries south of China, such as India and Vietnam.

☆ Analysts stumped by Apple's unusual supply warning, see 4th quarter estimates at risk
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-07 | by ( Samantha Subin | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Apple 's latest factory troubles mean downside ahead to estimates for the technology giant's December quarter, analysts say. The company also warned of fewer units shipped and longer wait times for customers. The statement has led to concerns that the company may sell fewer units in the December quarter or struggle to make enough to satisfy demand. While the disruption pushes lead times out by a week, they could extend even further, JPMorgan's Samik Chatterjee said in a note to clients Monday. Bank of America's Wamsi Mohan trimmed Apple estimates for the December quarter and cut his price target on the stock to $154 from $160 a share.

☆ Factbox: Australia Inc roiled by raft of cyberattacks since late 2022
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/3] A woman uses her mobile phone as she walks past in front of an Optus shop in Sydney, Australia, February 8, 2018. AUSTRALIAN CLINICAL LABSAustralian Clinical Labs Ltd (ACL.AX), one of the country's largest pathology providers, said unit Medlab suffered a breach that exposed data of about 223,000 patients. TPG TELECOMAustralia's No.2 internet service provider TPG Telecom (TPG.AX) said it had been notified of unauthorised access to a hosted exchange service that hosts email accounts of up to 15,000 business customers. CBACommonwealth Bank of Australia CBA.AX said its Indonesian unit, PT Bank Commonwealth (PTBC), had been hit by a cyber incident involving unauthorised access of a web-based software application used for project management. IPHAustralian intellectual property services provider IPH Ltd (IPH.AX) said it had detected unauthorised access to a portion of its IT environment, compromising information including administrative documents and some client documents.

☆ Apple warns Covid restrictions in China are hurting iPhone production
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-06 | by ( Kif Leswing | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

After a Covid outbreak at a Foxconn factory in Zhengzhou, China, some workers chose to go home. Apple said in a statement on Sunday that it has temporarily reduced iPhone 14 production because of Covid-19 restrictions at its primary iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max assembly plant in Zhengzhou, China. It said that it continues to see strong demand for the affected models, which are higher-priced than other iPhone models and start at $999 and $1099. In the past week, China has ordered lockdowns in Zhengzhou, where Apple does the majority of its iPhone production. It currently takes 31 days to receive an iPhone 14 Pro if ordered from Apple's website, longer than the average 2-day lead time for less-expensive iPhone models, JPMorgan analyst Samik Chatterjee said in a note on Sunday.

☆ These midcap stocks are loved by analysts, including one name expected to double
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-06 | by ( Fred Imbert | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Investors scrambling to find a home for their money amid this year's market turmoil may want to look at midcap stocks. The S & P Midcap 400 is down 15% year to date, outperforming the large cap S & P 500's 20% drop in that time. Midcap stocks are also outpacing the large- and small-cap names for the quarter. The S & P Midcap 400 index has jumped more than 9% in the fourth quarter, while the S & P 500 and Russell 2000 are up 8% and 5%, respectively. Midcap stocks are typically those with a market cap ranging between $2 billion and $10 billion.

HONG KONG, Nov 5 (Reuters) - U.S. audit watchdog's onsite inspection of the audit work of New York-listed Chinese companies, which started in Hong Kong in September, has ended, three people with knowledge of the matter said, raising hopes of a resolution of a long-pending dispute. The inspection started in Hong Kong after the two countries signed a pact in August to resolve a dispute that threatened to exclude more than 200 Chinese companies, including tech giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (9988.HK), from U.S. exchanges. Reuters reported in August that U.S. regulators had picked a number of U.S.-listed Chinese companies, including e-commerce groups Alibaba and Yum China Holdings Inc for onsite audit inspection. U.S. regulators have for more than a decade demanded access to audit papers of U.S.-listed Chinese companies, but Beijing has been reluctant to let U.S. regulators inspect its accounting firms, citing national security concerns. Reporting by Xie Yu and Julie Zhu in Hong Kong; additional reporting by Chris Prentice in Washington; Editing by Sumeet Chatterjee, Louise Heavens and Jane MerrimanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Ping An urges HSBC to make aggressive cost cuts
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

[1/2] The company logo of Ping An Insurance is seen in Beijing, China, Aug. 27, 2020. REUTERS/Thomas PeterHONG KONG, Nov 4 (Reuters) - HSBC Holdings shareholder Ping An has urged the lender to cut costs aggressively and exit sub-scale non-Asian markets as the Chinese insurer pushes harder for the bank to spin off its Asia operation. HSBC should be "more aggressive in radically reducing costs" and consider layoffs, Ping An Asset Management, the bank's largest shareholder and a wholly-owned unit of Ping An Insurance (601318.SS), said in a statement on Friday. Reporting by Selena Li Editing by Sumeet Chatterjee and David GoodmanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ HSBC top shareholder Ping An urges aggressive cost cuts, renews spin-off push
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( Selena Li | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

HSBC should be "more aggressive in radically reducing costs" and consider layoffs, Ping An Asset Management (Ping An AM), the bank's largest shareholder and a wholly-owned unit of Ping An Insurance (601318.SS), said in a statement on Friday. The statement on Friday marks Ping An AM's first public comments on the subject. Ping An AM said cost reduction was "urgent and absolutely needed" for the bank to improve performance, suggesting HSBC should consider layoffs and cuts in expenses at headquarters. HSBC said in a statement it had kept a tight grip on costs by driving greater efficiencies across the organisation. "We will support any initiatives including a spin-off that are conducive to improve HSBC's performance and value; we will consider any suggestions that will help HSBC improve its development and operation strategy," Ping An AM said.

[The stream is slated to start at 6 a.m. Please refresh the page if you do not see a player above at that time.] Watch CNBC's Sustainable Future Forum, taking place on Friday, Nov. 4, from 10 a.m. London time. The special live event is taking place ahead of the all-important COP27, or 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference. It will focus on three crucial pillars: Regulation & Responsibility, Future Power, and Industry Response.

The COP27 climate summit gets underway in Egypt from Nov. 6. Climate Change Conference will see more than 30,000 delegates convene in the Red Sea resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh to discuss collective action on the climate emergency. Loss and damage funding, meanwhile, is recognized by many as the third pillar of international climate policy. Kerry's openness to talks on loss and damage funding marked an abrupt change in tone from just one month earlier. Singh said political mobilization over loss and damage funding makes COP27 the most important COP yet.

Those returns would come from "great trading opportunities", including placing long and short bets on Chinese equities, said Man Group CEO Luke Ellis, without giving any details. "I think the alpha opportunities in China are very attractive," Ellis told Reuters on Thursday, referring to the potential to generate returns that are higher than market benchmark gains. "We've been able to generate good alpha in the Chinese market. With China gradually opening up its markets to foreign investors, Ellis sees the potential for Man Group to expand its operations in that country when it relaxes its stringent COVID-induced border controls. Man Group launched a Chinese domestic private fund unit in 2017 that currently runs one fund with a macro strategy.

☆ U.S. holiday sales to slow as inflation tests consumer resilience -report
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] A boy and his father walk through the toy section of Walmart on Black Friday, a day that kicks off the holiday shopping season, in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, U.S., on November 29, 2019. REUTERS/Sarah Silbiger./File PhotoNov 3 (Reuters) - U.S. holiday sales are expected to rise at a slower pace this year, a trade group said on Thursday, at a time when decades-high inflation has left Americans struggling to pay bills, draining some of the Christmas cheer from households. The National Retail Federation (NRF) forecast holiday sales, including e-commerce and non-store sales, to rise between 6% and 8% to between $942.6 billion and $960.4 billion during November and December. "While (early discounts) may result in some sales being pulled forward, we expect to see continued deals and promotions throughout the remaining months," NRF Chief Economist Jack Kleinhenz said. "In the face of these challenges, many households will supplement spending with savings and credit to provide a cushion and result in a positive holiday season," President and Chief Executive Matthew Shay said.

HONG KONG, Nov 3 (Reuters) - Wall Street major Morgan Stanley (MS.N) is expected to start a fresh round of layoffs globally in the coming weeks, three people with knowledge of the plan said, as dealmaking business takes a hit due to rising inflation and an economic downturn. One of the sources said the bank's 30-plus technology investment banking team in Asia Pacific will also be affected by the cuts. Morgan Stanley last month reported a 30% slump in third-quarter profit, missing analysts' estimate as a slowdown in global dealmaking hurt its investment bank business. Gorman is currently in Hong Kong at a high-profile financial summit aimed at re-opening the city to international investors after nearly three years of strict COVID restrictions. Reporting by Kane Wu and Julie Zhu in Hong Kong, Scott Murdoch in Sydney and Lananh Nguyen in New York; Editing by Sumeet Chatterjee and Richard PullinOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Op-ed: The U.S. and China should not miss a historic opportunity to save the world
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( Siddharth Chatterjee | The United Nations Resident Coordinator To China | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Climate Change Conference (COP 27) in Egypt approaches, the countries of the world face a stark choice between two paths. Such exploitation leads to more climate change, more floods, more fires, more hunger, more diseases, more forced migration and more war. Anyone who accepts the scientific facts of climate change understands that this must be our choice. The U.S. and China can each take dramatic climate action on their own, but they must also rise above current tensions to collaborate. Over a decade ago, cooperation between the U.S. and China laid the foundation for global action on climate change and paved the way for the 2015 Paris Agreement.

☆ Auditor exodus at embattled China property firms triggers governance concerns
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-01 | by ( Clare Jim | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

HONG KONG, Nov 2 (Reuters) - Auditors of at least 14 Hong Kong-listed Chinese property firms have exited this year, securities filings showed, raising governance concerns about the debt-ridden developers several of whom are yet to publish long-pending financial results. Embattled developers including Sunac China (1918.HK), Shimao Group (0813.HK) and Kaisa Group (1638.HK) are among those whose auditors have parted ways in recent months. In many cases, firms outside the Big-Four accounting firms have been roped in as replacements. The trend, which accelerated earlier this year, has seen auditors, including the world's top auditing firms PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and Deloitte, resigning from their roles. Deloitte in Hong Kong declined to comment on the reasons for ending their auditing mandates for some Chinese property developers.

☆ Credit Suisse plans to push ahead with China expansion after overhaul
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-31 | by ( Selena Li | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

As part of the global revamp, Credit Suisse is evaluating its presence in 13 locations in Asia Pacific with an aim to "simplify" operations in each location, Credit Suisse's Singapore-based Asia Pacific chief executive Edwin Low told Reuters, without elaborating. Low said China and Hong Kong, however, will remain brighter spots. A Credit Suisse report in September forecast the number of Chinese millionaires will double by 2026. As part of its China expansion plans, Credit Suisse struck a deal to buy out its Chinese partner in a local securities joint venture last month, at a time when plans of its global overhaul were being deliberated internally. "China will go through ups and downs, but we're giving the opportunity to acquire 100% of Credit Suisse Securities with our full commitment, knowing that the China recovery may not be immediate," Low said.

HONG KONG, Oct 31 (Reuters) - Hong Kong aims to restore its reputation as a global financial hub by playing host to a bevy of top Wall Street executives this week, defying critics who say a talent crunch and geopolitical tension will hobble its ambition. Alongside the main theme of "navigating through uncertainty", the summit is widely expected to focus on whether Hong Kong can remain a global financial centre after almost three years of border controls and pandemic restrictions. COVID-19 CONTROLSThe two-day summit, organised by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) - the de-facto central bank - has suffered at least two marquee participants dropping out after contracting COVID-19. Those who make it will look for reassurances of the city returning to pre-pandemic normalcy, making it easier for them to move talent to Hong Kong. Reporting by Scott Murdoch in Sydney and Kane Wu and Selena Li in Hong Kong; Editing by Sumeet Chatterjee and Christopher CushingOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Apple stock surges, on pace for its best day since 2020
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-28 | by ( Kif Leswing | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Apple CEO Tim Cook visits the Apple Fifth Avenue store for the release of the Apple iPhone 14, New York City, September 16, 2022. Apple stock rose more than 7% on Friday after reporting September quarter earnings that modestly beat expectations on revenue and profit and showed global demand for its premium hardware remains high. If it holds until the close, it'll be the best day for Apple shares since April 2020. Apple was the second-best performing stock in the Dow Jones Industrial Average behind Intel on Friday. And Apple signaled that demand for premium computers and phones remains strong.

☆ Analysts view Apple as a 'safe haven' and 'bright spot' in tech following another strong quarter
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-28 | by ( Samantha Subin | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Apple 's quarterly results proved to analysts that the iPhone maker's stock is the place to hide when a recession hits. Wells Fargo's Aaron Rakers called Apple the "bright spot amid mega-cap carnage" in a note to clients Thursday as the company shared "better-than-feared" results even in this troublesome macro environment. Credit Suisse's Shannon Cross said the stock is a "safe haven" and "relatively safe port in the storm" in a note to clients Thursday. JPMorgan Chase's Samik Chatterjee said the results underscore Apple's resilience and should further entice investors to buy the stock. "Amid a sea of large-cap earnings debacles, Apple's results appear to be a relative victory," wrote Bernstein's Toni Sacconaghi.

☆ EXCLUSIVE KKR raises $6 bln for biggest Asia infrastructure fund -sources
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-28 | by ( Anshuman Daga | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

HOTBED FOR DEALSLike the debut infrastructure fund that made more than a dozen investments, KKR's latest one will target renewables, telecom towers, power, utilities and transportation infrastructure, among others, the sources said. This year alone, funds backed by the likes of KKR, Macquarie, infrastructure investors DigitalBridge (DBRG.N) and Stonepeak have struck deals for tens of thousands of telecom towers in the Philippines. Earlier this month, a top executive at Permodalan Nasional Bhd, Malaysia's largest asset manager, told Reuters that it plans to add infrastructure assets into its portfolio from 2023. Last year, 19 Asia Pacific-focused infrastructure funds raised a total of $10.3 billion, Preqin data showed. Last month, Neil Arora, a veteran infrastructure dealmaker from Macquarie, joined KKR as the head of its energy transition team for Asia Pacific.

Although iPhone sales were not as strong as some analysts had targeted, they were still a record for the September quarter. Minutes before Apple reported, Amazon.com AMZN.O added to tech sector misery, predicting a holiday profit slump that sent its shares down 20%. Apple's iPhone sales for the company's fiscal fourth quarter rose to $42.6 billion, when Wall Street expected sales of $43.21 billion, according to Refinitiv IBES. The company reported sales of iPads were $7.2 billion, compared with the average estimate of $7.94 billion. In China, which has experienced a sharp economic slowdown, Apple reported fourth-quarter sales of $15.5 billion.

LONDON, Oct 27 (Reuters) - Seeking to restore vigour to a business that's been languishing, Credit Suisse (CSGN.S) says it will reshape its investment bank by resurrecting the First Boston brand. Still, Credit Suisse says it expects CS First Boston to generate 14% of total group revenue by 2025, starting with annual sales of about $2.5 billion. Credit Suisse has been plagued by an exodus of senior bankers over the past 18 months. Yet most trading activities will remain within Credit Suisse, raising questions on CSFB's ability to compete with the likes of Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan (JPM.N). Credit Suisse is hoping to eventually pursue an initial public offering of CSFB, Körner told analysts.

☆ Citi CEO Fraser will not attend Hong Kong summit due to COVID - source
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

HONG KONG, Oct 27 (Reuters) - Citigroup (C.N) Chief Executive Jane Fraser will not attend next week's Global Financial Leaders' Investment Summit in Hong Kong as she has tested positive for COVID-19, a person with knowledge of the matter told Reuters. It did not say if Chan would attend the summit. Citi's Fraser was set to join the heads of some of the world's top banks and asset managers at the summit. A Citi spokesperson confirmed the development and said that Fraser looked forward to visiting Hong Kong in the near future. Goldman Sachs (GS.N) CEO David Solomon, Morgan Stanley (MS.N) boss James Gorman and BlackRock (BLK.N) President Rob Kapito are among the speakers scheduled to attend, according to the summit organiser, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA).

☆ This semiconductor stock can rally more than 50% as it ramps up capacity, JPMorgan says in upgrade
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-24 | by ( Sarah Min | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

It's time to buy shares of Wolfspeed , according to JPMorgan. Analyst Samik Chatterjee upgraded shares of Wolfspeed to overweight from neutral heading into a key investor day on Oct. 31 that will likely prove the "capacity ramp key to delivering on the bull thesis on the shares." Shares of Wolfspeed outperformed this year, down only 5.4%, as investors expect greater adoption of its silicon carbide semiconductors as demand for electric vehicles grow. Electric vehicle production is supposed to ramp up at a more than 20% compounded annual growth rate, according to the note. Meanwhile, Wolfspeed's investor day could show whether the company can meet that demand through its Mohawk Valley facility.

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