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☆ These ETF strategies can help investors navigate a murky 2023 for markets
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-27 | by ( Jesse Pound | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Here's how some ETF experts are viewing the year and what types of funds could be winners in 2023. … In 2023, investors should be a lot more selective," said Pedro Palandrani, director of research at Global X ETFs. While those areas would be negatively affected by a recession, infrastructure spending approved earlier in the Biden administration could help create solid demand even if the U.S. consumer weakens. Similarly, iShares highlighted the U.S. Infrastructure ETF (IFRA) and the MSCI Global Agriculture ETF (VEGI) in its 2023 outlook as potential winners, in part due to their inflation-hedging properties . In iShares' 2023 outlook, the firm identified its MSCI USA Value Factor ETF (VLUE) and Core S & P Small-Cap ETF (IJR) as two funds that could benefit from a low-growth environment.

☆ Fed rate hike pushes small business loan interest over 10% for first time in nearly a generation
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Eric Rosenbaum | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

Many business owners have never seen double-digits," said Rohit Arora, co-founder and CEO of small business lending platform Biz2Credit. Almost a quarter of small business owners said they are paying a higher rate on their most recent loan, and the highest since 2008. The latest CNBC Fed Survey shows the market forecasting a peak Fed rate around 5% in March 2023 and the rate being held there for nine months. "Talking to small business owners looking for financing, it's starting to slow things down," Hurn said. Small business loan approval percentages at big banks dropped in November to the second lowest total in 2022 (14.6%), according to the latest Biz2Credit Small Business Lending Index released this week; and also dropped at small banks (21.1%).

☆ S&P 500 futures fall slightly as investors await Friday's U.S. jobs data
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( Tanaya Macheel | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

S&P 500 futures were slightly lower Thursday night as investors looked ahead to the November jobs report. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were lower by 0.15% and Nasdaq 100 futures fell 0.25%. In regular trading, the Dow closed lower by nearly 195 points, while the S&P 500 inched down 0.09%. Investors are focused on the Labor Department's report on non-farm payrolls, the unemployment rate and hourly wages, due at 8:30 a.m. Economists expect the economy to have added 200,000 jobs in November, according to Dow Jones.

☆ Here's how generative-AI startup Jasper raised $125 million in Series A funding from Insight Partners and became a unicorn
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-18 | by ( Stephanie Palazzolo | Emilia David | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Jasper uses artificial intelligence to create content from marketing copy and blog posts to images. The Texas startup has raised $125 million in Series A funding, led by Insight Partners. The startup runs on GPT-3, an AI model from its fellow generative-AI company OpenAI. For instance, in addition to online blog posts and marketing content, Jasper can feed user-generated content back into the model to refine its output over time. The startup also trains its model on content that users "favorite" or copy onto clipboards to improve quality.

☆ How West can mobilise trillions to help save Earth
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-10 | by ( Hugo Dixon | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

LONDON, Oct 10 (Reuters Breakingviews) - War, inflation, debt, hunger, energy security and fear of recession will dominate the discussions at the annual meetings of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund this week. America and a group of other countries have given the World Bank until December to come up with a plan. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterThe West has self-interested reasons to mobilise trillions of dollars to help the poorer nations of the so-called Global South transition from fossil fuels. But getting this money to flow to the Global South is tough because investors don’t think the returns on offer justify the risks. It is therefore encouraging that America and other leading shareholders have given the World Bank its marching orders and that Malpass has responded positively.

"The mortgage crisis is going to be bigger than energy now," said Richard Murphy, professor of accounting practice at Sheffield University, warning of a drop in house prices that could leave many with debt greater than the value of their home. This comes on top of a cost of living crisis driven by rising food and energy prices which is already biting many hard. CALL FOR CALMBeyond the immediate squeeze this will have on consumers' ability to spend, rising borrowing costs also have the potential to send the years-long house market rally into reverse: HSBC analysts predict house price falls of 7.5% into next year. Some top mortgage lenders are calling for calm, stressing they are still signing mortgage deals and that the pullback in lending among smaller rivals is in no way indicative of a broader, exodus of lenders from the mortgage market. Chris Huddleston, chief executive of international brokerage company FXD Capital, said he expected the mortgage market to remain in limbo in coming weeks as investors watch currency markets and how the Bank of England reacts.

British Pound Sterling and U.S. Dollar notes are seen in this June 22, 2017 illustration photo. Deutsche Bank's Currency Volatility Index – the historical volatility index of the major G7 currencies - jumped to a two-and-a-half year high of 13.55 on Monday. While Sterling and the yen have fared extremely poorly against the dollar, the greenback's meteoric rise has spared no major currency. Reuters GraphicsMoves have surprised long-time currency traders and investors. "Our team is working around the clock from multiple global locations," said Kamboj, adding he is not trading sterling because the pound's direction now depends entirely on how the Bank of England reacts.

An employee is seen walking over a mosaic of pound sterling symbols set in the floor of the front hall of the Bank of England in London, in this March 25, 2008 file photograph. Yet the rapid rise in yields investors now receive for owning UK bonds hasn't helped sterling much. Pound slumps and UK borrowing costs surgePredicting the short-term direction of currencies is notoriously hard. Against the euro the pound is only at two-year lows, although it is down 3% since Friday. "People will look at the UK and think that that's not a market that is stable," said Payne at Janus Henderson.

☆ The Fed just raised interest rates by another 0.75%, putting Main Street economy 'dangerously close' to edge of lending cliff
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-21 | by ( Eric Rosenbaum | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +12 min

"From a credit perspective, people are getting more cognizant about increasing interest cost, and that the Fed will keep interest rates at 4-4.50%," Arora said. "The expectation is, in the short term, SBA loans will adjust up and non-SBA loans are shorter tenure," he said. SBA loan guaranty waiver endingAnother cost that is suddenly influencing the SBA loan decision is the end of a waiver this month on SBA loan guaranty fees that are traditionally charged to borrowers so that in the event of a default, the SBA pays the portion of the loan that was guaranteed. When he started in small business lending back in 1998, business loans reached as high as 12% to 12.5%. And with a peak Fed rate level of 4% or higher reached by late this year, that is where SBA loan rates are heading.

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