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☆ Meme investors could spoil AMC’s next act
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

AMC is already fighting another lawsuit over its attempt to convert preferred stock into common shares, a novel scheme to avoid getting investors’ approval for share sales. It fits with other forays since AMC became a retail-favorite meme stock – like buying into a gold miner – that seem to disregard conventional governance niceties. Attracting a rush of retail traders means there are plenty of investors to call foul. If their push against the preferred stock gambit succeeds, AMC could struggle to raise new funds, which bodes poorly for repaying its $5 billion in debt. It turns out that, for a meme stock’s final act, the audience starts throwing tomatoes.

Persons: Adam Aron, Kevin Barnes, Barnes ’, Anita Ramaswamy, Xavier Niel’s, Jonathan Guilford, Sharon Lam Organizations: YORK, Reuters, AMC, Twitter, Xavier Niel’s GAM, Commonwealth Games, Thomson

☆ Novartis buyback offers partial cure for M&A risk
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, July 18 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Novartis’s (NOVN.S) bumper buyback will offer a little relief to investors. Many had been waiting to see what the $225 billion Swiss pharma giant would do with an extra $20 billion burning a hole in its pocket after Roche(ROG.S) bought back its stake in 2021. It needs new drugs to replenish its pipeline and boost an ailing share price, which has still not recovered since the pandemic. But on Tuesday, CEO Vasant Narasimhan said he will launch a $15 billion buyback programme. The Swiss drugmaker’s $15.4 billion of net debt is less than 1 times its forecast 2023 EBITDA, according to Refinitiv.

Persons: Roche, Vasant Narasimhan, can’t, Aimee Donnellan, Xavier Niel’s, Neil Unmack, Streisand Neto Organizations: Reuters, Swiss pharma, Alcon, Madrigal Pharmaceuticals, Novartis, Twitter, Xavier Niel’s GAM, Commonwealth Games, Thomson Locations: Swiss

☆ 'Feel good factor' of travel encourages purchase of luxury goods, investment director says
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-17 | 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 Email'Feel good factor' of travel encourages purchase of luxury goods, investment director saysSwetha Ramachandran, investment director for luxury equities at GAM Investments, discusses the outlook for luxury goods, saying it is strongly linked to tourism due to the feel good factor travel brings, as well as tax and price differences tourists benefit from.

Persons: Swetha Ramachandran Organizations: GAM Investments

☆ Futures falter as Fed forecasts further rate hikes
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Traders see a 72% chance of a 25-basis-point rate hike in July, up from around 60% a day earlier, according to the CME Fedwatch tool. "Powell expressed that the committee seemed surprised about the resilience of current inflation even if Tuesday's CPI print showed a continued slowing in the headline inflation rate," said Charles Hepworth, investment director at GAM Investments. The S&P 500 (.SPX) and Nasdaq (.IXIC) rose for a fifth consecutive session on Wednesday, while the Dow (.DJI) ended down following the Fed decision. ET, Dow e-minis were down 78 points, or 0.23%, S&P 500 e-minis were down 18.25 points, or 0.41%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were down 107 points, or 0.7%. Reporting by Shristi Achar A and Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru Editing by Vinay DwivediOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: TD Cowen, Powell, Charles Hepworth, Shristi Achar, Sruthi Shankar, Vinay Dwivedi Organizations: Dow, Nasdaq, Federal Reserve, Fed, Traders, GAM Investments, Apple, Nvidia, Tesla, Dow e, Investors, Kohls Corp, Alibaba, People's Bank of China, Thomson Locations: China, U.S, Bengaluru

☆ Stellantis SPAC deal has suitably decent airbags
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, June 12 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Carmakers are in a race to lock in battery metals like lithium. For shareholders, the risk is that they tie up capital in expensive supply deals, or mines in far-flung locations with poor governance. Stellantis’s (STLAM.MI) investment in a London-based special purpose acquisition company deal looks like a neat fix to those challenges. In a complex deal, halfway between an IPO and a SPAC takeover, it will buy the Serrote and Santa Rita mines in east Brazil for $1.1 billion. Besides the original SPAC investors, the bulk of that will likely come from a public offering, and new anchor investors like Stellantis.

Persons: Nat Rothschild’s Vallar, Artem Volynets, Neil Unmack, Xavier Niel, George Hay, Oliver Taslic Organizations: Reuters, Twitter, Brookfield, Thomson Locations: London, Santa, Brazil, Teck, China

☆ Glencore’s Teck coal approach sends two signals
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, June 12 (Reuters Breakingviews) - At first sight, the latest Teck Resources (TECKb.TO) chess move by Glencore (GLEN.L) is slightly confusing. While that approach still stands, Glencore on Monday said it has now also submitted a cash offer to buy only Teck’s coal unit. Teck’s coal arm is expected to make $2.9 billion of EBITDA in 2024, according to analysts’ estimate polled by Refinitiv, which on the 3 times multiple at which its steelmaking coal peers trade implies an $8.5 billion valuation. Yet Glencore is already offering cash for the coal arm in its punt for the whole company. One is to try to encourage Teck’s board to engage in discussions, given the coal arm has already received interest from Nippon Steel (5401.T) and billionaire Pierre Lassonde.

Persons: Glencore, Gary Nagle’s, Pierre Lassonde, Bunge, Nagle, Karen Kwok, Xavier Niel, George Hay, Oliver Taslic Organizations: Reuters, Teck Resources, Refinitiv, Nippon Steel, Twitter, Brookfield, Thomson Locations: China

☆ China IPOs are uncoupling from Wall Street too
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Increasingly it is detaching from Wall Street too. Nonetheless, the Shanghai Stock Exchange will hold a hearing for the deal on Friday, per Refinitiv’s IFR. Syngenta is a pillar in Beijing’s strategy to shore up food security and will use the deal to pay down debt. The landmark IPO coincides with signs that Wall Street’s small position in the market is shrinking further. Syngenta’s blockbuster IPO will be an awkward new milestone for Wall Street already facing life in China’s second tier.

Persons: Beijing’s, It’s, Dealogic, Xavier Niel, Pete Sweeney, Thomas Shum Organizations: Reuters, Agricultural Bank of, Shanghai Stock Exchange, HK, BOC, Citic Securities, Twitter, Brookfield, Thomson Locations: MUMBAI, Agricultural Bank of China’s, Hong Kong, China’s, Una

☆ Brookfield gets some M&A help from Gulf friends
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, June 9 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Brookfield Asset Management (BAM.TO) has won its payments race. The Canadian investment group’s 2.2 billion pound bid for London-listed payments provider Network International (NETW.L) was enough to see off a rival pitch from CVC and Francisco Partners. They’ve also endorsed a plan to merge Dubai-based Network International with domestic peer Magnati, a former unit of FAB. If Network International alone can grow revenues at a 15% annual clip and reach a margin of 44% from the current 41%, EBITDA could hit $388 million by 2028. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

Persons: Brookfield, They’ve, EBITDA, Pamela Barbaglia, Xavier Niel, George Hay, Streisand Neto Organizations: Reuters, Brookfield Asset Management, London, Network, Francisco Partners, Abu Dhabi Bank, Abu, Abu Dhabi Developmental Holding Company, FAB, ACI, Brookfield, Twitter, Thomson Locations: Abu Dhabi, Saudi, Dubai

☆ UBS’s state aid is a disaster insurance policy
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, June 9 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Sergio Ermotti has a taxpayer safety net, but it only kicks in if things get really bad. The state will eat 9 billion Swiss francs ($10 billion) of losses on certain assets once UBS has swallowed an initial 5 billion Swiss francs. The actual contract, despite being 94 pages long, is missing the most important number: how many assets are covered by the agreement. UBS in mid-May said it would write down the value of Credit Suisse’s assets by $10 billion. To breach its initial loss threshold, the assets would have to fall 11% below their already discounted value.

Persons: Sergio Ermotti, Liam Proud, Xavier Niel, George Hay, Oliver Taslic Organizations: Reuters, UBS, Credit Suisse, Finance, Suisse’s, Twitter, Toyota, Thomson

☆ Xavier Niel offers risky alternative for sick GAM
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, June 8 (Reuters Breakingviews) - French billionaire Xavier Niel is asking investors to have one last flutter on GAM (GAMH.S). GAM investors will receive shares in Liontrust worth around 0.5% of the target company’s assets under management back in May, and even less now. If all goes well, GAM’s current investors could still keep a much larger share of the upside than they would with the Liontrust deal. The risk, however, is that GAM’s turnaround proves hard, cost cuts are more expensive and damaging, and the group keeps losing assets or staff. Moreover, it’s plausible that Niel wins enough backing to block the deal, but not enough to replace the board, leaving GAM in limbo.

Persons: Xavier Niel, Niel, Bruellan, manager’s, Neil Unmack, Liam Proud, Streisand Neto Organizations: Reuters, Liontrust Asset Management, Twitter, Toyota, Thomson Locations: Liontrust

Markets are also waiting for the appointment of a new central bank governor to replace Sahap Kavcioglu, who spearheaded rate cuts under Erdogan's unorthodox policies. "I think we are seeing the impact of Simsek pushing (the Turkish central bank) for rational policy." Bankers say the lira's continued gradual depreciation will lead to improved market conditions and halt a decline in central bank reserves. But it sparked a record lira crisis in December of 2021 and sent inflation to a 24-year high above 85% last year. Erdogan is considering appointing Hafize Gaye Erkan, a senior finance executive in the United States, as central bank governor, Reuters reported on Monday.

Persons: Tayyip Erdogan, Erdogan, Mehmet Simsek, Simsek, Sahap Kavcioglu, Tim Ash, Hafize Gaye Erkan, Erkan, Paul McNamara, Huseyin Hayatsever, Jonathan Spicer, Ali Kucukgocmen, Tom Hogue, Christina Fincher Organizations: BlueBay Asset Management, Bankers, Reuters, Simsek, GAM, Thomson Locations: ANKARA, Turkish, United States, Ankara, Turkey, Jorgelina, Rosario, London

☆ Turkish lira crashes as new government sets sights on ‘rational’ policies
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-07 | by ( ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Markets are also waiting for the appointment of a new central bank governor to replace Sahap Kavcioglu, who spearheaded interest rate cuts under Erdogan’s unorthodox policies. Bankers say the lira’s continued gradual depreciation will lead to improved market conditions and halt a decline in central bank reserves. But it sparked a record lira crisis in 2021 and sent inflation to a 24-year high above 85% last year. Erdogan is considering appointing Hafize Gaye Erkan, a senior finance executive in the United States, as central bank governor, Reuters reported Monday. Erkan would be the country’s fifth central bank chief in four years, after Erdogan fired previous governors as part of frequent policy shifts.

Persons: Tayyip Erdogan, Erdogan, Mehmet Simsek, Simsek, Sahap Kavcioglu, ”, Tim Ash, “, Hafize Gaye Erkan, Erkan, Paul McNamara Organizations: BlueBay Asset Management, Bankers, Reuters, Simsek, GAM Locations: Turkish, United States, Ankara, Turkey

☆ Stock markets are ignoring a 'laundry list' of risks, strategist says
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | by ( Elliot Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) May 30, 2023. Stock markets are ignoring a "laundry list" of potential risks in their recent bull run, and a big downturn could be incoming, according to Julian Howard, investment director for multi-asset solutions at GAM Investments. "There's this laundry list of problems, and interest rates and inflation haven't gone away. The debt ceiling is done, and I think there's a sense that, actually, the markets need to refocus again on inflation and rates," Howard said. "The U.S. consumer is pretty ambivalent about inflation, it kind of expects higher inflation now, and that's dangerous because that entrenches higher inflation itself, because obviously expectations lead to higher inflation."

Persons: Julian Howard, Howard, CNBC's, haven't Organizations: New York Stock Exchange, Stock, GAM Investments, Nasdaq, U.S . Federal Locations: U.S

☆ Further Fed tightening could lead to a 'sizable correction' in markets, strategist says
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | 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 EmailFurther Fed tightening could lead to a 'sizable correction' in markets, strategist saysJulian Howard, lead investment director of multi-asset solutions at GAM, discusses what he dubs a "laundry list" of potential short-term risks to equity markets.

Persons: Julian Howard

☆ Investing in AI: how to avoid the hype
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-26 | by ( Naomi Rovnick | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

SummarySummary Companies AI boom brings fresh challenge for investorsAI-themed stocks highly valuedStick with big tech not AI stocks - investorsLONDON, May 26(Reuters) - Experienced tech investors are hunting for undervalued opportunities in an over-valued space. Investors are chasing exposure to generative AI, the technology run by ChatGPT that learns from analysing vast datasets to generate text, images and computer code. Businesses are trying to use generative AI to speed up video editing, recruitment and even legal work. GAM's Hawtin said he has also hunted out companies that provide the "picks and shovels," necessary for enabling new AI technology. Amazon's Bedrock service, for example, lets companies customise generative AI models rather than invest in developing them themselves.

Tens of billions of dollars of FX and gold reserves have been used up - another sign of systematic micro-management. Depositors have put some $33 billion into depreciation-protected bank accounts in the last two months, bringing the total to $121 billion - almost a quarter of all Turkish deposits. Benchmark international market bonds have fallen back 10%-15% and key FX market volatility gauges that look a year or more ahead have hit record highs. Eyes are now on the FX reserves and the lira as it surpasses 20 to the dollar, the latest major milestone in its long descent. "These weren't seen as cheap assets, they were seen as jewels," MIT's Acemoglu said of the M&A banking boom heyday.

☆ Britain inches towards right chipmaking niche
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, May 19 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is taking a small step in the right direction. After much hesitation, Britain announced on Friday it would invest 1 billion pounds in its domestic semiconductor industry, with a focus on chip designs. Britain plays a relatively insignificant role in chip manufacturing, which is dominated by Taiwanese giant Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) (2330.TW). With over 110 semiconductor design firms, Britain can probably claim to be Europe’s leader in the segment. Under Sunak’s plan, Britain will invest 200 million pounds by 2025, with the full 1 billion pounds achieved over the next decade.

☆ BT’s miss may spur big investors into action
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, May 18 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Trumpeting massive job cuts is usually one way to boost a share price. The 14 billion pound telco said on Thursday it would shed 55,000 jobs over the next seven years, but shares slumped 8%. That will stretch the patience of Deutsche Telekom (DTEGn.DE) and Patrick Drahi’s Altice, which collectively control 30% of the UK group. The catch for Drahi and Höttges is that it’s not obvious what they should demand to reinvigorate BT’s share price. Still, if the two bigwigs decide to join forces, BT’s job cuts may yet move up to the company’s C-suite.

☆ A Sony spinoff comes better late than never
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

HONG KONG, May 18 (Reuters Breakingviews) - A long-awaited Sony (6758.T) spinoff is finally happening. The Japanese video games-to-semiconductors conglomerate may list its financial subsidiary "within the next two to three years" while retaining a 20% stake. Investors promptly bid up shares of Sony as much as 7% on the news. Partially offloading Sony Financial Services, which the company only took full control of in 2020 for $3.7 billion, makes sense. Sony stresses it is not planning any other spinoffs for now - one of them is plenty to look forward to.

☆ Mediobanca dips toe into tech M&A shark tank
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Mediobanca (MDBI.MI), the 8.5-billion-euro financial group run by veteran CEO Alberto Nagel, said on Thursday it had agreed to buy London-based Arma Partners, an advisory boutique that specializes in technology deals. With revenue in excess of $100 million, or about 90 million euros, Arma should add more than 10% to Mediobanca’s annual net fees and commission of 850 million euros. The French boutique’s contribution, although a record, stood at 63 million euros in the financial year that ended in June 2022. Buying Arma allows Mediobanca to gain expertise in growing areas like cloud services, software and cybersecurity, which are outside the Italian bank’s core strengths. Star banker Erik Maris left Mediobanca a year after Nagel clinched the purchase of a 66% stake in the boutique.

☆ Sea’s rising tide gets a harsh reality check
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SINGAPORE, May 17 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Sea (SE.N) was sailing strong. The $41 billion Southeast Asian internet giant retreated from overseas markets, slashed marketing spend, and shed thousands of jobs. Still, that wasn’t enough for the company to meet earnings estimates on Tuesday. Li is assuring the market that the company he built – once valued at over $200 billion -- is more self-sufficient. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

☆ 'More needs to be done' about inflation, analyst says
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | 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 Email'More needs to be done' about inflation, analyst saysJulian Howard, multi-asset investment director at GAM, discusses the outlook for the U.S. Federal Reserve's monetary policy, and says there's complacency about its tightening.

☆ GAM’s takeover rebels have a weak hand
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The billionaire has a good track record in activism, having agitated to block a rights issue at Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield (URW.PA). But getting a better deal at GAM looks hard. NewGAMe, backed by Niel, and its partner Bruellan are right that the Liontrust offer is far from appealing. The agitators hope to exceed a 10% stake, enough perhaps to stop Liontrust from taking full ownership of GAM. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

Growth came mostly from exports, the result of a revival in global trade as China re-opened for business after the pandemic. But national data showed price growth remained stubbornly high, probably leaving the ECB with no choice but to keep raising interest rates. Friday's inflation data showed progress was slow. IMF CALLS FOR MORE RATE HIKESMoney markets currently price in another 70 basis points of ECB rate hikes by October, possibly followed by cuts as early as the start of next year. It also said European Union finance ministers should tighten fiscal policy in concerted action to bring down high inflation, which would probably depress consumption further.

☆ Swiss lender ZKB held takeover talks with GAM Holding, Financial Times reports
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

April 22 (Reuters) - Swiss lender Zuercher Kantonalbank, known locally as ZKB, has held takeover talks with GAM Holding AG (GAMH.S), the Financial Times reported on Saturday, citing people familiar with the matter. London-listed Liontrust Asset Management (LIO.L) said earlier this week it was discussing a potential merger of its investment management unit with GAM. In an emailed statement, ZKB declined to comment on whether takeover talks had taken place with GAM, but said the company was "constantly examining opportunities within its business development strategy". According to the Financial Times report, Z Capital Group, a New York-based investment firm, is also interested in buying GAM. GAM and Z Capital did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

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