DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Investing in Space: India is the industry's 'sleeping giant,' according to an expert behind the international Artemis Accords
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-29 | by ( Michael Sheetz | In Michaeljsheetz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Indian Ambassador Taranjit Sandhu, right, talks with NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, after having signed the Artemis Accords on June 21, 2023. CNBC's Investing in Space newsletter offers a view into the business of space exploration and privatization, delivered straight to your inbox. Gold described India as "a sleeping giant in the space world that is awakening" – albeit "one that's been snoring loudly." Gold believes India's bureaucratic reforms in its space efforts are helping the country move faster in the sector. "No one is altering their path – we're just complementing each other relative to Artemis and the existing plans with India.

Persons: Taranjit Sandhu, Bill Nelson, CNBC's Michael Sheetz, Narendra Modi, Mike Gold, –, Gold, Artemis Organizations: NASA, Artemis Accords, CNBC's, India's, Modi's, Indian Space Research Organization, ISRO, International Space Station, U.S, Space Force, Space, CNBC, Galactic Locations: U.S, India, Russia, China

☆ Layoffs hit Colorado space companies as funding remains tight
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-09 | by ( Michael Sheetz | In Michaeljsheetz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

A pair of Colorado space companies laid off employees this past week, seeking to adapt to the new normal of a tight funding environment. The layoffs came at Ursa Major, which makes rocket engines, and Orbit Fab, a startup aiming to provide refueling services to spacecraft. An Ursa Major spokesperson confirmed to CNBC that the company restructured, but declined to specify the number of layoffs made. In a statement, Ursa Major said the job reductions are "realigning our workforce to better meet the needs of our national security customers." TechCrunch first reported the Ursa Major layoffs.

Persons: Major, Adam Harris, Harris, Ursa Major Organizations: Ripley, Ursa, Ursa Major, CNBC, Space Capital, Air Force Research Laboratory, Astra, Space Force, Space Agency, TechCrunch Locations: Colorado, Berthoud , Colorado, Lafayette , Colorado

☆ US bank stocks rebound, regional banking index hits 6-week high
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

June 6 (Reuters) - Shares of major U.S. banks and regional lenders outperformed broader markets in morning trading on Tuesday with the KBW Regional Banking index (.KRX) hitting its highest since late April. The tenuous relief rally comes at a difficult time for the banking sector that has been grappling with worries around deposit flight, rising interest rates and exposure to commercial real estate since March. The S&P 500 Banks index (.SPXBK) advanced about 2.3%. Regional lenders were also higher, with PacWest Bancorp (PACW.O), Western Alliance (WAL.N), Zions Bancorp (ZION.O), Comerica (CMA.N), M&T Bank Corp (MTB.N) and KeyCorp (KEY.N) rising between 4.9% and 8.5%. The volatility in shares of regional lenders has underscored ongoing investor uncertainty over the health of the sector, with the KBW Regional Banking index losing roughly 22% so far this year.

Persons: Wells, Goldman, Morgan Stanley, Manya Saini, Shounak Dasgupta Organizations: KBW, JPMorgan Chase &, Wells Fargo & Co, Goldman Sachs Group Inc, Citigroup, Bank of America Corp, PacWest Bancorp, Western Alliance, Zions Bancorp, Comerica, T Bank Corp, Bank, Reuters, Thomson Locations: U.S, Bengaluru

☆ Wall Street closes lower after Home Depot outlook, US retail sales
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Chuck Mikolajczak | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The Commerce Department reported retail sales rose 0.4% in April, short of the estimate for an increase of 0.8%. That slowing along with recent negotiations over the U.S. debt ceiling has focused attention on when the central bank will pause hiking, or cut interest rates. While the market is currently pricing in a rate cut by the end of the year, recent comments from Fed officials suggested they are not ready to cut rates soon. Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester said she does not think the central bank can hold interest rates steady yet. (This story has been corrected to say 'a rate cut,' instead of 'a rate hike,' in paragraph 8)Reporting by Shreyashi Sanyal in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju SamuelOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ S&P 500, Dow fall, dragged by Home Depot outlook, US retail sales
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Chuck Mikolajczak | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Home Depot (HD.N) shed 1.73%, the biggest drag on the Dow Industrials and among the heaviest weights on the S&P 500 after the home improvement retailer cut its annual sales forecast and projected a steeper-than-expected decline in profit. The Commerce Department reported retail sales rose 0.4% in April, short of the estimate for an increase of 0.8%. That slowing along with recent negotiations over the U.S. debt ceiling has focused attention on when the central bank will pause hiking, or cut interest rates. Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester said she does not think the central bank can hold interest rates steady yet. The S&P 500 posted 10 new 52-week highs and 12 new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 42 new highs and 163 new lows.

The steep drop in fresh capital has left many companies in a vulnerable state, while the failure of Silicon Valley Bank, a leading provider of venture debt, has added to the challenge, a report by venture capital (VC) firm Space Capital said on Thursday. Space Capital's report, coming on the heels of a Chapter 11 filing from Richard Branson's Virgin Orbit Holdings Inc, tracked 89 companies active in the sector. The risk threshold to invest in space companies was much higher earlier, but given recent market uncertainty, investors may not be as risk-loving and space being a nascent sector, many are dialing back, Deutsche Bank analyst Edison Yu told Reuters separately. However, Space Capital added that companies in emerging industries, like those associated with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Artemis mission to the Moon are seeing an increased interest. Reuters GraphicsReporting by Akash Sriram and Tanya Jain in Bengaluru; Editing by Nivedita BhattacharjeeOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Analysis: Rocket startups face adapt-or-die moment amid investment drought
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-17 | by ( Joey Roulette | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Venture investment in space startups has dropped 50% year-over-year in 2022 to $21.9 billion, according to VC firm Space Capital. Astra Space (ASTR.O), which ditched its small Rocket 3.3 for a planned, larger Rocket 4 in the next few years, has struggled to bring its stock price above $1, facing delisting threats from Nasdaq. Despite the startups' struggles, launch demand has soared after sanctions following Russia's invasion of Ukraine cut off access to Russian rockets. Recent failures with Europe's Arianespace's Vega-C rocket have added to demand in the U.S., outstripping the number of available rockets. Private plans to deploy mega-constellations, vast swarms of satellites in low-Earth orbit, have also given launch startups hope for future demand.

REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File PhotoWASHINGTON, April 12 (Reuters) - Several Federal Reserve policymakers last month considered pausing interest rate increases after the failure of two regional banks and a forecast from Fed staff that banking sector stress would tip the economy into recession. But even they concluded high inflation remained so paramount they pressed on with a rate hike despite the risk. Fed staff assessing the potential fallout of banking sector stress projected a "mild recession" starting later this year, with a recovery in 2024-2025, the minutes showed. "Some participants noted ...they would have considered a 50-basis-point increase ... in the absence of the recent developments in the banking sector," the minutes said. "Participants observed that inflation remained much too high and that the labor market remained too tight; as a result they anticipated that some additional policy firming may be appropriate," the minutes said.

☆ Instant View: Some Fed officials hesitated before hiking -March minutes
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

And I don’t think they are going to be any rate cuts (this year), I don’t care what fed funds futures say. It’s going to have bad, like really bad, for them to cut. I’m not swayed by the latest FOMC minutes at all.”SAM BURNS, CHIEF STRATEGIST, MILL STREET RESEARCH, SHERBORN, MASSACHUSETTS"The minutes sound a little bit more on the dovish side. "The headline inflation rate is below the core rate which it hasn't been for a long time. It's probably going to be range-bound trading for a little longer until we get some major news."

☆ Musk denies report on SpaceX's plans for new funding from Saudi, UAE
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 24 (Reuters) - Elon Musk, the billionaire founder of SpaceX, on Friday denied a media report from earlier this week that said investors from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates were planning to invest in a multi-billion dollar funding round in the company. A unit of Saudi Arabia's investment fund and an Abu Dhabi-based company are planning to invest in a multi-billion dollar funding round for SpaceX, the Information had reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the discussions. Musk tweeted "not true" responding to the report. The funding round is expected to value the rocket maker at about $140 billion, the report added. SpaceX raised $2 billion in 2022 and $2.6 billion in 2020, according to venture capital firm Space Capital.

☆ It'll be difficult to find a bank as 'startup-friendly' as Silicon Valley Bank, says VC firm
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | 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 EmailIt'll be difficult to find a bank as 'startup-friendly' as Silicon Valley Bank, says VC firmEdith Yeung of Race Capital says Silicon Valley Bank was the "bedrock" for Silicon Valley.

"Not only are these big banks not sitting around and waiting for the phone to ring, they are also being proactive." Amid the nation's most troubling turmoil in banking since the global financial crisis nearly 15 years ago, the big banks are flexing their collective muscle. The 2008 financial crisis humbled the banking behemoths; the 2023 crisis of regional banks has now only cemented their power. For an increasingly stretched financial system, the big banks provide a needed stability. The flight to safety that is benefiting the big banks will have a cost, however.

☆ 84% of recent first-time home sellers have regrets. Here are 4 mistakes to avoid
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Lorie Konish | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Brandon Bell | Getty Imageswatch now"Even in a really strong seller's market, people still have regrets," said Amanda Pendleton, Zillow home trends expert. Here are four regrets from recent sellers that homeowners ought to be aware of before listing their homes this spring. "If you price it competitively, you're going to be able to sell it a lot quicker," Jenkin said. Homes that get more saves and views on Zillow have virtual, three-dimensional home tours and interactive floor plans, Pendleton said. Bad timingA quarter of recent sellers felt they got their timing wrong, Zillow found.

WASHINGTON, March 12 (Reuters) - Earlier this month the U.S. Federal Reserve in a report to Congress gave what has become a standard reassurance: Banks were strong and the overall financial system in solid shape. Regulators on Sunday were working on a response to contain any fallout from the bank's collapse, including a sale to another institution able to make depositors whole. More broadly, the Fed has tools that are always available to shore up the financial system, including direct loans to banks with adequate collateral through its so-called discount window. Karim Basta, chief economist for III Capital Management, wrote on Sunday, mapping out the potential trail from SVB's collapse to broader macroeconomic implications. "Large banks continue to have ample liquidity to meet severe deposit outflows," the Fed report said.

☆ Wall Street bounces modestly after prior week's selloff
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( Chuck Mikolajczak | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Each of the three main indexes climbed more than 1% shortly after the opening bell, in part due to an easing in Treasury yields. The yield on two-year Treasury notes , which typically moves in step with interest rate expectations, slipped after touching a near four-month high. Seagen Inc (SGEN.O) surged 9.73% after the Wall Street Journal reported that Pfizer (PFE.N) was in early talks to acquire the biotech firm. Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a 2.30-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.66-to-1 ratio favored advancers. The S&P 500 posted four new 52-week highs and five new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 58 new highs and 82 new lows.

☆ Buyout barons reach deep into their bags of tricks
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Jonathan Guilford | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

NEW YORK, Feb 15 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Debt necessity is proving to be the mother of private equity invention. With the cheap borrowing that fueled record-breaking years of leveraged buyouts gone, firms are digging deeper into their bags of tricks. Private equity firm Silver Lake, which bought a stake alongside the IPO, said it might take control. Besides putting private equity firms into weaker negotiating positions, the competing incentives also threaten conflicts of interest with limited partners. ...THERE’S A WAYIf the U.S. Federal Reserve avoids engineering a recession, private equity should be able to revert to its tried-and-true formula soon enough.

☆ Buy these 10 stocks right now to earn steady income from dividends and gain exposure to AI while preparing your portfolio for a long recession, according to a veteran strategist
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-11 | by ( James Faris | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Veteran market strategist Kenny Polcari sees stocks falling toward their December lows. Here are 10 stocks to buy now for strong dividends or exposure to trends like AI. The 40-year market veteran said the drop will come as the US economy loses steam and heads for a longer-than-expected recession. The market veteran added: "You have to prepare for what you think might be the worst and then be pleasantly surprised. Risk-averse investors should focus on stocks that pay dividends and are in recession-resistant sectors like healthcare, utilities, and consumer staples, Polcari said.

☆ A worse-than-expected recession will cause the price of homes in overvalued markets to fall 20% this year — and these 3 cities are most at risk
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( James Faris | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Here are three cities where properties are overvalued and could drop by 20%. "I think it's going to continue to be a rolling recession, of which housing has already started." Many pundits expect that to change, and some are predicting that US home prices will plunge 20% in 2023. How much home values fall depends both on how long and painful the upcoming recession is and what market they're in, Polcari said. "In some parts of the country that got really overexaggerated, you could see those prices come in 20%," Polcari said.

☆ Musk's yes-men: 5 experts break down why it's difficult to 'speak truth to power.'
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-28 | by ( Jordan Parker Erb | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Like yesterday, we're continuing with some of the year's best stories from our VC and startups team. Why it's difficult to "speak truth to power." The top VC and startups stories of 2022:Union Square Ventures; 645 Ventures; Race Capital; Mindset Ventures; Marianne Ayala/Insider6. Former Amazon leaders have infiltrated the tech industry. After dominating the VC industry last year, crossover funds spent 2022 pulling back.

☆ Analysis: EU avoids sledgehammer to crack euro clearing nut - for now
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( Huw Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

EU financial services chief Mairead McGuinness has likened ending the bloc's heavy reliance on London for clearing euro contracts to weaning the EU off Russian gas so that Brussels builds "open strategic autonomy" in capital markets to safeguard financial stability. This will help build a more efficient market that makes relocation of clearing from London attractive, McGuinness said. Industry officials note EU based clearing liquidity in this contract would effectively need to be built up from scratch, which could take time. These conditions would mean that in practice EU banks will still be clearing some derivatives in London after June 2025. Nevertheless, EU banks still face systems changes to report and track how much is being cleared, a cost that UK and U.S. banks won't face.

☆ EU ramps up moves to limit financial link with post-Brexit London
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( Huw Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Britain's departure from the EU has forced the bloc to review its reliance on London for clearing trillions of euros in derivatives, EU financial services commissioner Mairead McGuinness said. The draft laws form the latest package in the bloc's efforts to build a capital markets union. The portion that must shift would be decided by EU regulators, but the relocation would be "gradual" and "with the grain" of the market to cut excessive rather than all reliance on London, an EU official said. Banks pushed back against voluntary attempts to relocate euro clearing from London to Frankfurt, leaving the EU with little choice but to mandate the shift. The third draft law seeks to simplify how companies list to save about 100 million euros annually in compliance fees.

St. Louis Fed President James Bullard said on Thursday the U.S. central bank needed to keep raising interest rates given that its tightening so far "had only limited effects on observed inflation". The comments, coming on the heels of strong retail sales data, dampened hopes of the Fed toning down its hawkish approach following softer-than-expected inflation reports. They are getting more comfortable with a generally higher interest rate regime," said Paul Nolte, portfolio manager at Kingsview Asset Management in Chicago. ET, Dow e-minis were up 224 points, or 0.67%, S&P 500 e-minis were up 35.5 points, or 0.9%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 118.25 points, or 1.01%. Applied Materials Inc (AMAT.O) gained 4.0% after the chip tools maker forecast first-quarter revenue above estimates, on hopes of easing supply chain constraints.

"Initially when that (Bullard commentary) came out, you saw the market sell off and then there was some discussion about was he being over-reactive?" Equities had seen strong gains last week after a softer-than-expected inflation report boosted hopes of smaller rate hikes from the Fed. Most of the 11 major S&P 500 sectors advanced, with defensive utilities (.SPLRCU) and real estate (.SPLRCR) leading gains, up about 1% each. The S&P index recorded six new 52-week highs and no new low, while the Nasdaq recorded 34 new highs and 60 new lows. Reporting by Shubham Batra, Ankika Biswas and Amruta Khandekar in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta and Vinay DwivediOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

The space company was valued at more than $1 billion when private equity firm AE Industrial Partners became its controlling shareholder in March. A FireFly spokesperson declined to comment when asked about the fundraising, as did a spokesperson for AE Industrial Partners. It is among a handful of U.S. space companies vying to launch small satellites into space. SpaceX's bigger Falcon 9 rocket costs $62 million and Rocket Lab's smaller Electron rocket costs $7 million. Venture capital investments in space companies fell 44% from a year earlier, according to a quarterly report from VC firm Space Capital.

☆ Investing in Space: Cash crunch
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-20 | by ( Michael Sheetz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

CNBC's Investing in Space newsletter offers a view into the business of space exploration and privatization, delivered straight to your inbox. We're now in the final quarter of the year, and for several space companies, it's survival time. They weren't proven businesses and the tide went out," a banker familiar with the sector told me about the environment for space stocks. While not a definitive metric, the cash burn rates of de-SPAC space companies – from AST SpaceMobile to Redwire and more – give a window into the urgency of the situation. Private space companies are feeling the pinch as well.

Search resuls for: "Ace Capital"

25 mentions found