DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ 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

☆ Twitter may be worth only a third of its pre-Musk value, Fidelity says
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

Washington CNN —A Fidelity fund has slashed its estimate of Twitter’s value amid ongoing chaos at the company, implying the social media platform may be worth only a third of its value compared to when Elon Musk acquired it in October. According to a monthly disclosure, Fidelity’s Blue Chip Growth Fund reported that its stake in Twitter was worth $6.55 million at the end of April. That’s down from the $19.66 million the Fidelity fund said its stake was worth in October as Musk was finalizing the acquisition. The revision implies Twitter may be worth only $15 billion overall, as opposed to Musk’s $44 billion purchase price. Fidelity has repeatedly marked down Twitter’s value.

Persons: Elon Musk, That’s, Musk, Linda Yaccarino, – CNN’s Matt Egan Organizations: Washington CNN, Elon, Growth Fund, Twitter, Fidelity, Reuters, Bloomberg

☆ Facebook-Giphy sale shows how fear of regulators is slowing M&A market
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-26 | by ( Rohan Goswami | In Rohangoswamicnbc | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Instagram chief Adam Mosseri touted Giphy's "amazing team" and "expressive" userbase, and stressed Giphy's user data was "not the motivation." The sale was forced by the U.K.'s antitrust regulator, which ruled Meta's acquisition posed a risk to the social media and advertising markets. Jonathan Kanter, who helms the Department of Justice's Antitrust Unit, and Lina Khan, the Federal Trade Commission's chair, have been given wide latitude by President Joe Biden to pursue potentially anticompetitive behavior. Prior to his DOJ posting, Kanter worked in private practice, advising directors and executives on potential deals and attendant regulatory pitfalls. Van Grack, the former chief of the DOJ's Foreign Agent Registration Act unit, noted regulatory scrutiny was increasing for years prior to the current administration.

☆ Here’s why retailers are beating earnings estimates, even with lackluster sales
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-24 | by ( Robert Hum | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Here's the big key from retailers this earnings season: Margins are holding up and that's driving earnings beats even amid more tepid sales trends. That's all led to a rather lackluster round of retail sales this earnings season. Retailers have avoided heavy discounting We haven't seen many mentions this season of retailers resorting to steep markdowns despite more tepid shopping trends. Lower freight and shipping costs Another major pandemic cost driver was elevated transportation costs for retailers. Abercrombie & Fitch saw gross margin improvement "primarily driven by a benefit of 760 basis points from lower freight costs ."

Persons: Kohl's, Abercrombie, Fitch, TJX, Ralph Lauren, Lululemon, Michael Kors Organizations: Abercrombie, Fitch, Retailers, Urban, Anthropologie, Free People Group, Urban Outfitters, Walmart, Body, Nordstrom, Dollar Locations: Kohl's, Costco

☆ Wayfair’s Way Day Sale: What to Buy, According to Expert Shoppers
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( ) www.wsj.com time to read: +7 min

By Buy Side StaffWayfair’s Way Day Sale is happening now, which means tons of furniture, decor, cookware and more home essentials are deeply discounted. All-Season ComforterIf you’re ready to upgrade your comforter, these two are part of the Way Day sale. Right now the light grey color is down to $700, well below the $1,250 price we’ve tracked in the past. And during Way Day the white version is marked down to $124, nearly 40% less than it was during Wayfair’s last big sale. Large, understated mirrorA strategically placed mirror is a great way to make your space feel larger, and this Ivy Bronx model is a great way to do so without drawing attention to the mirror itself thanks to the simple frame.

☆ Turkey's Getir sees valuation almost halved with new funding - report
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

April 19 (Reuters) - Turkish delivery company Getir has raised about $500 million in a deal that cuts its valuation almost in half, news website Insider reported on Wednesday citing industry sources. The company has raised $300 million from Abu Dhabi state fund Mubadala at a valuation of around $6.5 billion, according to the report. Another $150 million to $200 million were added by other existing shareholders, the report added. In March last year, Getir closed a $768 million funding round led by Mubadala that valued the company at around $12 billion. It could have been valued even lower but the deal came with a high liquidation preference, the report said.

☆ Grocery app Getir, once worth $11.8 billion, sees valuation almost halved with new funding, sources say
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Getir, one of the biggest remaining grocery apps, has raised $500 million, per sources. But its valuation has been almost halved to around $6.5 billion, from $11.8 billion. Other existing shareholders added another $150 million to $200 million to the round, two further sources said. The deal is a 45% markdown on the $11.8 billion price tag that was placed on Getir during its last fundraise in March 2022. Getir could have been valued even lower but the deal came with a high liquidation preference, the sources added.

☆ IMF chief economist: stability risks should not deter central bank inflation fight
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

WASHINGTON, April 11 (Reuters) - Central banks should not halt their fight against inflation because of financial stability risks, which look "very much contained," International Monetary Fund chief economist Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas told Reuters. Gourinchas said most large central banks, including the Federal Reserve, the European Central Bank and the Bank of England, are already near the peak of their rate hike cycles. SEPARATE TRACKSInstead, authorities should contain stability risks with tools used after the failures of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, such as central bank lending facilities and other backstops, which would free up monetary policy to stay focused on bringing inflation down. "And in my sense, if they're expecting that because they think the Fed or central banks should take into consideration financial stability arguments...we're not there," Gourinchas said. This could lead to an adjustment of yields on longer-term securities upwards as market expectations become more "realigned with what the central banks are communicating."

☆ 5 must-see charts that show why the economy is barreling toward disaster — putting stocks at risk for massive declines
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-01 | by ( William Edwards | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Reducing inflation is likely to require a period of below-trend growth and some softening in labor market conditions," Powell said. "Restoring price stability is essential to set the stage for achieving maximum employment and stable prices over the longer run." A large enough pullback in lending will send the economy into a downward spiral, he said. "If you get a credit crunch, you could have an immediate downturn in the economy, a very quick downturn," he said. Credit spreads are the gap between high-risk bond yields and yields on risk-free bonds.

Lululemon is "checking all the right boxes," according to Citi, with "all systems ready to go" for accelerated growth in 2023. Citi raised its rating on Lululemon shares to buy from neutral, after the company topped fiscal fourth-quarter estimates and offered an upbeat forecast for the coming year. "Inventory-to-sales gap [was] better than expected," Lejuez said, with a "pathway to further improvement (with limited markdown pressure)." Citi increased its price target on Lululemon shares to $440 from $350, implying 37.4% upside from Tuesday's closing price. Lululemon shares jumped more than 15% on Wednesday.

☆ Musk’s Twitter markdown falls short of the mark
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( Lauren Silva Laughlin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The billionaire owner of Twitter has offered stock grants to the social media app’s shrunken staff at a valuation of about $20 billion, less than half the price he paid in October. In fact, based on Twitter’s operating performance, the effects of leverage and public market comparisons, the equity is probably worthless. Net out $13 billion of debt, as of January, and equity holders are left with just over $20 billion, or about the figure reported over the weekend by The Information. First, Twitter wasn’t generating consistent earnings before Musk bought it, and so it’s hard to believe it’s doing so now. Back out the debt and the equity is less than zero, assuming their cash position hasn’t meaningfully changed.

☆ Jeremy Grantham warns the 'everything bubble' is bursting, the S&P 500 could nosedive 50%, and a recession looks certain. Here are the elite investor's 12 best quotes from a new interview.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-25 | by ( Theron Mohamed | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Jeremy Grantham warned the S&P 500 could tank by up to 50% as the "everything bubble" bursts. Grantham advised against holding US stocks for now, and slammed the Fed for inflating asset bubbles. Grantham blasted the Federal Reserve for inflating asset bubbles time and again, and warned investors against holding US stocks in the short run. And yet, the Nasdaq went down 82%, Amazon went down 92%, and the S&P went down 50%. (Grantham was discussing how the the biggest asset bubbles form.)

☆ A group of banks are in talks to deposit $30 billion in First Republic, sources say
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( Jesse Pound | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

A group of financial institutions are in talks to deposit $30 billion in First Republic in what's meant to be a sign of confidence in the banking system, sources told CNBC's David Faber. Bank of America , Wells Fargo , Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase will contribute about $5 billion apiece, while Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley will deposit around $2.5 billion, the sources said. Truist , PNC , U.S. Bancorp , M&T Bank and Capital One will deposit about $1 billion each. First Republic's stock, which closed at $115 per share on March 8, traded below $20 at one point on Thursday. The company reported more than $212 billion assets at the end of December and generated more than $1.6 billion in net income last year.

☆ Bolloré Jr. readies Vivendi for asset purge
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

But the markdown gives Yannick more latitude to end his father’s ill-fated Italian foray while continuing to play hardball to raise the price tag. Here again, the move will give Bolloré junior more freedom to consider offers from potential buyers, which the European Commission will have to approve. At 70, the elder Bolloré, who remains in charge of the family holding that owns a 30% stake in Vivendi, is gradually implementing his succession plan. At 9.8 euros, Vivendi’s stock fails to capture the value of its various investments and trades below an analysts’ target of between 12 to 15 euros. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

☆ Deutsche Bank says buy these two retail stocks on any post-earnings dip this week
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( Michelle Fox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

In a challenging year for retailers, Costco and Dollar Tree stand out as buying opportunities, according to Deutsche Bank. Both companies report earnings this week, following disappointing forecasts for 2023 from the likes of Walmart and Home Depot . DLTR 1Y mountain Dollar Tree is up slightly for the year. Deutsche Bank also trimmed its earnings estimates for Costco 's latest quarter by 2 cents to $3.27 per share. Costco is up about 7% this year, while Dollar Tree has gained 2%.

☆ Joshua Kushner's $3 billion Thrive Capital VC fund has lost 31% in the past year, according to a major endowment backer
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-13 | by ( Ben Bergman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Thrive announced at the beginning of last year it closed a massive $3 billion fund. By the end of the year, one of the fund's major investors marked down its stake by 31%. Thrive Capital, the New York-based venture firm founded in 2009 by Joshua Kushner, announced at the beginning of last year it closed a massive $3 billion fund, with $500 million earmarked for early-stage startups and another $2.5 billion devoted later-stage companies. Thrive is also in talks to make another $1 billion investment in Stripe, Bloomberg recently reported. And Thrive is also in talks to invest in OpenAI through a tender offer, the Wall Street Journal reported.

☆ Stripe, Reddit and Instacart valuations take a beating in Fidelity's latest markdowns. Here's how they fared.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( Samantha Stokes | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Several other startups like Instacart and Reddit have fared poorly in terms of external valuations this year. Year-end numbers in mutual fund filings show that other late-stage startups like Instacart and Reddit also suffered throughout 2022. From November to December, Fidelity dropped the value of its Reddit shares nearly 9%. Its current share value, however, is a 1.5% improvement from the mutual fund's previous markdown in its holdings to $36.90 a share in May. But the public markets might not be the silver bullet needed to pull these companies out of their slumps: Many of Stripe, Instacart, and Reddit's public counterparts are also struggling.

☆ Morgan Stanley's Q4 results show the Club holding is firing on all cylinders, as the stock soars
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( Zev Fima | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

Those deals — valued at roughly $13 billion and $7 billion, respectively — pushed Morgan Stanley further into the money management world. Expense efficiency ratio is a measure of efficiency that is calculated as total non-interest expenses divided by net revenue. Segment results Institutional securities net revenue of $4.8 billion for the fourth quarter missed analysts' forecasts of nearly $5.09 billion. Wealth management net revenue of $6.63 billion for the quarter exceeded Wall Street's expectations of $6.29 billion. Investment management net revenue of $1.46 billion for the quarter outpaced the $1.29 billion consensus estimate.

☆ How the job of Amazon delivery has changed with Rivian's electric vans and routing software
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-14 | by ( Katie Tarasov | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +10 min

For now, most Amazon drivers are still in about 110,000 gas-powered vans — primarily Ford Transits, Mercedes-Benz Sprinters and Ram ProMasters. Amazon wouldn't share how it determines which of its 3,500 third-party delivery firms, or delivery service partners (DSPs), are receiving Rivian vans first. Workers load packages into Amazon Rivian Electric trucks at an Amazon facility in Poway, California, November 16, 2022. Amazon vans have driver-facing cameras inside, which can catch unsafe driving practices as they happen. For example, an Amazon driver in Missouri was found dead in a front yard in October, allegedly after a dog attack.

☆ Buy Lululemon, a 'rare name with momentum', Wells Fargo says in upgrade
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-06 | by ( Samantha Subin | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

It's time for investors to buy shares of Lululemon Athletica , according to Wells Fargo. Analyst Ike Boruchow upgraded the athletics apparel and accessories stock to overweight, calling the it a defensive and "rare name with momentum" poised to outperform on the top line this year. Shares of Lululemon gained about 2% before the bell Friday. He also cited easing freight pressures and better margin visibility as another catalyst for Lululemon going forward. "With LULU not a markdown-driven model, we see more visibility than most on the margin front looking to next year."

☆ Bank of America picks for the first quarter include Domino's Pizza and this luxury retailer
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-03 | by ( Samantha Subin | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

As the new calendar year kicks off, Bank of America is recommending several stocks to bet on in the new quarter. That market volatility is far from over, with Bank of America expecting little upside for the S & P 500 in 2023. Here are some of the stocks included: Consumer discretionary stocks suffered in 2022 as fears of a slowdown in spending loomed. Bank of America expects those tailwinds to continue, projecting more than 12% upside for the Ivory soap maker, compared with Friday's close. Humana was another 2022 outperformer that Bank of America recommends for the first quarter, with shares rallying more than 10% last year.

☆ Fidelity marks down value of Twitter stake by 56%
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Dec 30 (Reuters) - Fidelity funds slashed the value of their Twitter stake by 56% in November, according to a monthly disclosure by the investment firm released on Friday, as the social media giant navigates a period of turmoil following Elon Musk's $44 billion buyout. Fidelity Blue Chip Growth Fund's stake in Twitter was valued at nearly $8.63 million as of Nov. 30, compared to $19.66 million at October-end, days after Musk closed the acquisition. Another of the asset manager's funds, Fidelity Contrafund, also reported a similar markdown. Musk's tenure at Twitter so far has been chaotic amid an exodus of advertisers and heavy layoffs. Fidelity was among more than a dozen investors who backed the billionaire's deal to acquire Twitter, committing over $316 million.

☆ Lululemon just reported an 85% increase in inventory, but don't expect big holiday sales. Here's why.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( Matthew Kish | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

CEO Calvin McDonald doesn't expect to slash prices to clear merchandise. The company expects revenue between $2.605 and $2.655 billion. Chief Financial Officer Meghan Frank said the company expects inventory to clear throughout the current quarter. McDonald said he doesn't expect to cut prices in order to move merchandise faster, aside from typical markdown activity. But while he described it as a "premium brand" with "pricing power," he doesn't expect to raise many more.

☆ Oil from questionable origins with a 40% discount is being offered to US energy traders, report says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( Phil Rosen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

US energy traders are receiving pitches for steeply discounted crude with unclear origins, Bloomberg reported. One middleman offered up to 200,000 barrels of heavy-sour crude at a $30 markdown vs. West Texas Intermediate, per the report. Those three nations combined may be exporting over 4 million barrels a day of discounted oil, according to Bloomberg and EIA data. Moscow has denounced the West's price cap measure and sanction measures, and is still working on a response to the restrictions, a Kremlin spokesperson said Wednesday. Possible counters to the price cap may include banning oil sales to certain nations or setting a maximum price discount for its flagship Urals crude against Brent.

☆ Tech's reality check: How the industry lost $7.4 trillion in one year
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-25 | by ( Rohan Goswami | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +14 min

Not one of the 15 most valuable U.S. tech companies has generated positive returns in 2021. In total, investors have lost roughly $7.4 trillion, based on the 12-month drop in the Nasdaq. In the war for talent and the free flow of capital, tech pay reached new heights. Loading chart...SPACs allowed companies that didn't quite have the profile to satisfy traditional IPO investors to backdoor their way onto the public market. A slowing IPO market informs how earlier-stage investors behave, said David Golden, managing partner at Revolution Ventures in San Francisco.

Search resuls for: "markdown"

25 mentions found