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☆ Analysis: US debt-ceiling deal dooms Biden's revolutionary tax plans
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( David Lawder | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Barring an unlikely Democratic sweep of the White House and both chambers of Congress in 2024, major changes to the U.S. tax code are now seen as largely off the table until the end of 2025, when the 2017 individual tax cuts expire. TAX CHANGES ARE TOUGHBiden's unrealized campaign tax pledges illustrate the political difficulty of changing the U.S. tax code, barring a commanding majority in Congress. "House Republicans have successfully blocked every penny of President Biden’s tax hikes on families, farmers, and small businesses in the debt ceiling deal and protected the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act from repeal," said U.S. House Ways and Means Chairman Jason Smith. The Missouri Republican added that Americans want Congress to build on the Trump tax cuts "with more tax relief." Republicans will argue for making the 2017 individual tax cuts permanent, said John Gimigliano, KPMG's head of federal tax legislative and regulatory services.

Persons: Joe Biden's, Biden, That's, William McBride, Joe Manchin, Kyrsten Sinema, Jason Smith, Michael Kikukawa, Kikukawa, John Gimigliano, Gimigliano, Steve Rosenthal, Rosenthal, David Lawder, Heather Timmons, Matthew Lewis Organizations: Saturday, Revenue Service, Trump, White, Tax Foundation, Democratic, Republican, Republicans, IRS, House, The, The Missouri Republican, Economic Co, Congressional, Brookings Tax, Center, Thomson Locations: Washington, The Missouri

☆ Wall Street faces life in China’s second tier
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( Antony Currie | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +8 min

Recent earnings reports from U.S. investment banks defy the sober mood among China-focused financiers. Morgan Stanley’s (MS.N) Asia revenue in the first three months of the year was almost 40% above the final quarter of 2022. Companies going public in Hong Kong have raised $2 billion so far this year, per Dealogic. At some point Hong Kong IPOs and cross-border M&A are likely to perk up. Many of those trades flow through the Hong Kong bourse’s Stock Connect links to the Shanghai and Shenzhen exchanges.

Persons: Jamie Dimon, outlast, It’s, Morgan Stanley’s, Sharon Yeshaya, Goldman Sachs’s, that’s, Stephanie Hui, Goldman Sachs, ”, Morgan Stanley, Goldman, That’s, Breakingviews, Hong Kong, Peter Thal Larsen, Katrina Hamlin Organizations: MELBOURNE, Reuters, JPMorgan, Communist Party, Companies, HK, KKR, Reuters Graphics, Tuesday, Bank of America, Wall, China Securities, Financial Times, Apple, Hong Kong bourse’s, Goldman, JPMorgan –, Bloomberg, Thomson Locations: China, Shanghai, U.S, Asia, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, Beijing, Washington, United States, People’s Republic, Germany, Hong, Shenzhen, Greater China, Pacific

☆ Very few U.S.-China flights are back despite the end of Covid
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Previously, the only regular direct flights by Chinese carriers between mainland China and New York since the pandemic were from Shanghai and Guangzhou. Flights of Air China are parked on the tarmac of Beijing Capital International Airport in Beijing, China, March 28, 2016. watch nowIn March, Delta announced it resumed direct flights between the U.S. and China — from Shanghai to Seattle and Detroit. Overall, mainland China's international flights remains below 40% of 2019 levels, the Nomura report said. The analysts expect that level to pick up to 70% by the end of the year as international flights recover around the summer holiday season.

Persons: Nomura, Ting Lu, Kim Kyung Hoon Organizations: China, U.S, Air, U.S . Department of Transportation, Beijing Capital International Airport, Reuters, American Airlines, Delta Locations: BEIJING, U.S, China, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Italy, Variflight, Middle East, Iran, Beijing, Ukraine, Air China, New York, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Los Angeles, Delta, United, Seattle, Detroit

☆ EV maker Lucid announces $3 billion raise from Saudi public wealth fund and stock offering
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( John Rosevear | In Jrosevear | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Electric vehicle maker Lucid announced plans to lay off 1,300 workers, 18 percent of its workforce, as part of a restructuring plan. Lucid Group said on Wednesday that it is raising about $3 billion through a new equity offering, with the majority coming from the Saudi fund that controls the luxury electric-vehicle maker. Lucid said that about $1.8 billion of the total will come from a private placement of stock with Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF). The remainder will be raised through a public offering of new shares that commenced Wednesday, the company said. Lucid had about $3.4 billion in cash and about $700 million in available credit lines as of March 31, according to its most recent report.

Persons: Lucid Organizations: Electric, Lucid, Saudi, Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund Locations: Newark , California

☆ US seeks to curb investment in Chinese chips, AI and quantum computing
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( Karen Freifeld | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, May 31 (Reuters) - New rules under consideration would restrict the flow of U.S. investments and know-how into Chinese companies working on advanced semiconductors, artificial intelligence and quantum computing, a U.S. Treasury official said on Wednesday. Reuters reported in February that the Biden administration plans to ban investments in some Chinese technology companies and increase scrutiny of others, three sources said, as part of its plan to crack down on the billions that American firms have poured into sensitive Chinese sectors. China hawks in Washington blame U.S. investors for transferring capital and valuable know-how to Chinese tech companies that could help advance Beijing's military. Separately, Republican Senator Bill Hagerty asked about efforts to restrict the supply of U.S. origin goods to Chinese telecommunications company Huawei. Reporting by David Shepardson and Daphne Psaledakis in Washington, and Karen Freifeld in New York; Writing by Chris Sanders; Editing by Daniel WallisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Paul Rosen, Biden, Bill Hagerty, Thea Rozman Kendler, Kendler, David Shepardson, Daphne Psaledakis, Karen Freifeld, Chris Sanders, Daniel Wallis Organizations: Treasury, Reuters, Republican, Huawei, Exports, Commerce, Thomson Locations: U.S, China, Washington, New York

WASHINGTON, May 31 (Reuters) - U.S. banks saw total deposits decline by a record 2.5% in the first quarter of 2023, and industry-wide profits were relatively flat after taking into account the effects of two large bank failures, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation said Wednesday. The FDIC said the $472 billion in deposit outflows in the first quarter was the largest it had recorded since it began collecting such data in 1984. The decline was primarily from uninsured funds, as insured deposits actually rose $255.1 billion, or 2.5%, amid the failures of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank. The decline in deposits was offset by increased wholesale funding, which rose 14.4% in the first quarter. The results showed banks shrinking the amount of unrealized losses on their books and maintaining strong capital ratios.

Persons: Martin Gruenberg, Gruenberg, Pete Schroeder, Sinead Carew, Nick Zieminski Organizations: Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, FDIC, Valley Bank, Signature Bank, First Republic Bank, Comerica, Citizens, Thomson

The upcoming national strategic fund for "Made in Italy" products will have an initial endowment of 1 billion euros ($1.10 billion) in state cash, the statement said, adding it would also aim to boost procurement of "critical raw materials." A draft seen by Reuters showed that the new vehicle was also entitled to invest in domestic, listed firms not operating in the financial sector. The scheme will aim to raise at least an additional 500 million euros from private investors, according to the document. Run by the state lender Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP), the Patrimonio Rilancio fund was originally intended to provide some 40 billion euros of financing, but has so far invested just around 1 billion. Once the bill is approved by parliament, the government will issue a decree defining how the fund will work.

Persons: Rome, Giorgia Meloni, Adolfo Urso's, Italy's, Alison Williams, Deepa Babington Organizations: Reuters, United Arab, Industry, Patrimonio, InfraVia Capital Partners, Paris, Equity, Thomson Locations: ROME, Italy, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Azerbaijan, Norway, France

☆ Elon Musk's private jet has landed in Beijing - Reuters witness
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

BEIJING, May 30 (Reuters) - A private jet used by Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) CEO Elon Musk has arrived in Beijing, according to a Reuters witness. Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether Musk had arrived in China. China is Tesla's second-largest market after the U.S., and the Shanghai plant is the electric car maker's largest production hub. The jet with its identifying tail number could be seen at Beijing Capital International Airport on Tuesday, according to the Reuters witness. While his plane was en route to China, Musk tweeted about advances in China's space program, which aims to land a crew on the moon before 2030.

LONDON/BERLIN, May 30 (Reuters) - Nestle (NESN.S), the world's biggest packaged food company, said on Tuesday it had hired the London Stock Exchange Group's (LSEG) finance chief Anna Manz as its new chief financial officer. Manz will replace Francois-Xavier Roger, who the company said is stepping down to "pursue new professional challenges" after eight years in the role. Nestle, whose more than 2,000 brands include Kit Kat, Haagen-Dazs and Nescafe, said Manz will join Nestle as soon as she is released from her current duties. "We trust that Anna will pursue Francois' legacy, considering her strong career at Diageo," Vontobel analyst Jean-Philippe Bertschy said. Rival Unilever Plc (ULVR.L) also said on Tuesday that CFO Graeme Pitkethly would leave the consumer goods giant by the end of May 2024 after more than two decades.

☆ China's first homegrown large passenger jet took its maiden flight after 16 years in the making — check it out
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-29 | by ( Grace Dean | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

China's first domestically-made large passenger jet completed its maiden commercial flight Sunday. China's first domestically-made large passenger jet has completed its maiden commercial flight. VCG/VCG via Getty ImagesNearly 130 passengers were on board for the maiden flight, which took around two hours, Comac said. Crowds gather to watch the C919 land at Beijing Capital International Airport during its maiden commercial flight. Passengers sit on board the C919's maiden commercial flight.

CNN —China’s first large homegrown passenger jet made its inaugural commercial flight on Sunday, flying from Shanghai to Beijing, Chinese state news agency Xinhua reported. Flying as China Eastern Airlines flight MU9191, the new narrow-body C919 plane left Shanghai at 10:32 a.m. local time. With a range of up to 5,555 kilometers (3,452 miles), the C919 will take on the world’s two major aircraft manufacturers, Airbus and Boeing. It will be a direct competitor to their A320 and B737 narrowbody jets, most commonly used for domestic and regional international flights. Many of the plane’s major elements such as the nose, fuselage, outer wing, vertical stabilizer and horizontal stabilizer were designed by COMAC.

☆ I flew from Dubai to London in economy class on an Emirates A380. The service was exceptional, but the colossal plane felt outdated.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-28 | by ( Nathan Rennolds | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

I took a seven-and-a-half-hour flight from Dubai to London on an Emirates A380. The food was surprisingly good and the Emirates service was exceptional as usual. Morning Brew Insider recommends waking up with, a daily newsletter. On my return journey, I flew from Vietnam's chaotic but enchanting capital City, Hanoi, to Dubai, before taking a connecting flight back to London. As I shifted from vacation mode back into work mode, I thought it would be a good opportunity to review the "superjumbo."

☆ Fintech firm Klarna halves net loss in first quarter as it races toward profitability
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-26 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Klarna, the Swedish buy now, pay later fintech company, halved its net loss in the first quarter, recording a significant improvement in its bottom line after a major cost-cutting drive. The company posted a net loss of 1.3 billion Swedish krona ($120.7 million), down 50% from the 2.6 billion krona loss in the same period a year ago. Klarna reported total net operating income of 5 billion Swedish krona, up 22% year-over-year. The results show how Klarna is making "significant strides" toward profitability on a monthly basis, the firm said. Buy now, pay later firms, which allow shoppers to defer payments to a later date or pay over installments, have been particularly impacted by souring investor sentiment on technology, amid a worsening macroeconomic environment.

☆ Opus uses AI to help train up deskless workers. Check out the 19-slide pitch deck it used to raise $6.8 million.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-24 | by ( Riddhi Kanetkar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

New York-based Opus is using AI to train America's deskless workforce. A startup that uses AI to improve the training of non-office-based workers just raised $6.8 million in fresh funds. New York-based Opus, founded in 2020, has developed a platform that can help speed up employee onboarding for so-called deskless workers. Opus works as a mobile app, allowing employers to create training content tailored to every individual workplace. "By using AI, our content builder helps you build it faster than legacy solution," Nemeth told Insider.

Persons: onboarding, Rachael Nemeth, Nemeth, Klara Organizations: Vanderbilt University, Cable, Gutter, NextView Ventures Locations: York, New York

NEW YORK, May 22 (Reuters) - JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N) is beefing up its commercial banking business that caters to tech startups and other early-stage companies, the company said on Monday. The largest U.S. lender plans to add staff after it hired more than a hundred bankers this year to serve companies in the so-called innovation economy in sectors such as technology, e-commerce and life sciences. Two other regional lenders were subsequently seized by banking regulators, including First Republic Bank, which JPMorgan bought earlier this month. JPMorgan's broader commercial bank has more than 18,000 clients, including mid-sized businesses and corporations, government entities and non-profits and more than 33,000 real estate investors or owners. It also aims to expand overseas to serve early-stage companies in the United Kingdom, Europe and Asia.

☆ Canadian banks see earnings risk from commercial property loans, TD in focus
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( Nivedita Balu | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

TORONTO, May 22 (Reuters) - Canadian banks are expected to report a rise in bad debt provisions and highlight risks from commercial property loans when they report earnings this week, with the country's No.2 bank TD (TD.TO) in focus after its acquisition of First Horizon (FHN.N) failed. Bay Street analysts have lowered their second quarter earnings expectations for Canadian banks, anticipating higher expenses and slowing loan growth as turmoil south of the border weighs on the broader banking sector. Still, investors view Canadian banks as safer bets than their U.S. counterparts due to their strong capital levels. BMO and Scotia Bank (BNS.TO) are due to report earnings on Wednesday, while TD, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CM.TO) and Royal Bank of Canada (RY.TO) report on Thursday. Canadian bank stocks have largely underperformed TSX Canadian bank stocks have largely underperformed TSXEmpty offices in big cities have raised concerns among investors about banks' commercial property loan exposure, since about 10% of the lending portfolio of the Big-6 banks is tied to commercial real estate.

☆ Nearly half of UK firms to defer investment due to tax rises, survey finds
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-21 | by ( David Milliken | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, May 22 (Reuters) - Almost half of medium-sized British companies plan to delay investment plans due to last month's rise in corporation tax, a survey published on Monday found. Britain's headline rate of corporation tax rose to 25% in April from 19% the year before, under the enactment of a policy announced in March 2021. "The recent rise in the headline corporation tax rate will dampen current business investment plans although the positive reaction to the new full expensing capital allowances regime suggests this may only be a short-term effect," said Paul Falvey, a tax partner at BDO. The BDO survey was based on responses from 512 companies polled between March 30 and April 16. ($1 = 0.7923 pounds)Reporting by David Milliken; editing by Barbara LewisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Lab-grown breast milk startup Biomilq aims to change infant nutrition — if it can release a product
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-20 | by ( Natasha Piñon | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +11 min

Biomilq, the company behind the breakthrough, had been working for nearly a decade to replicate the process of making human milk — but outside of the body. While the crisis has highlighted the importance of a resilient formula supply, human milk experts, milk bank advocates and Biomilq all stress the same message: Breast milk is best. The startup will likely take a "gradual approach" to introducing its science via "an early-life nutrition product in partnership with one of these bigger companies," Strickland explained. Breast milk is woefully understudied — to the point that it's difficult "to even say what human milk is from a nutritional standpoint," Perrin explained. The company is researching which aspects of human milk its system is best suited to produce.

☆ How tornadoes, crypto and mudslides pushed up the debt default deadline
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Samantha Delouya | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

While the Treasury Department hasn’t explicitly given a reason for its tax revenue deficiency, experts have said two main factors may have caused a shortfall. Pugliese said that last year, capital gains taxes paid to the government were “unusually strong” due to a market boom. That led to really strong capital gains tax revenue increases,” he said. Tornadoes, winter storms and mudslides pushed deadlines for millions of taxpayersAnother factor that may have lowered the federal government’s tax income this year: unexpected natural disasters. California’s payments might have had an outsized effect on the federal government’s tax revenue shortage, said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics.

☆ A Sinking Capital and More: The Week in Reporter Reads
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

For two years, Mr. Joko served as the governor of a capital city that seemed to teeter on the brink of ruin. Most of all, Jakarta was sinking, as thirsty residents drained its marshy aquifers and rising sea waters lapped its shores. So Mr. Joko rolled up his sleeves, put on his sneakers and set about trying to fix the city. All the Sisyphean dredging, the endless concrete inches slathered on sea walls, the duct tape solutions could not raise Jakarta above the sea’s reach. And so Mr. Joko has turned to a different solution: If Jakarta cannot be saved, he will need to start over.

☆ US banks rethink social media as a threat, not a marketing tool
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Nupur Anand | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Greg Becker, the former CEO of Silicon Valley Bank, blamed social media as an "unprecedented" factor in the lender's demise. The former CEO of First Republic Bank, Michael Roffler, also blamed social media for its collapse two months later. Bank executives and directors have ordered their companies to add social media into risk-management programs, according to regional bank executives who declined to be identified because the discussions are private. "NIP IT IN THE BUD"Banks are also contacting customers who complain on social media to address their issues quickly. The Financial Stability Board, an international body, is also investigating the role of social media in recent market turmoil, a source said.

☆ Biden's Papua New Guinea no-show deals blow to US credibility in Pacific - analysts
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Kirsty Needham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

"For Papua New Guinea this was a very big deal and they will be disappointed," said Mihai Sora, a Pacific islands analyst with the Lowy Institute think tank in Sydney. The cancellation was also a "blow to U.S. credibility in the region as a consistent partner", he added. "Up until now Pacific islands leaders have been giving the U.S. the benefit of the doubt over its ability to re-engage." Biden had also been scheduled to meet 18 Pacific island leaders in the three-hour visit to the PNG capital Port Moresby. The Pacific islands span 40 million square km of ocean, where vital sea lanes and submarine cables link the United States to its allies Australia and Japan.

☆ See the 19-slide presentation that got General Catalyst to back a startup tackling a $25 billion problem for hospitals
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Rebecca Torrence | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The startup used this pitch deck to get backing from top healthcare VC firm General Catalyst. The Magoons' new startup, Adonis, raised $5.6 million in seed funding in October to solve that problem with tech. Just under seven months later, Adonis has raised $17.3 million more in Series A funding, led by top healthcare VC firm General Catalyst. "Given all the work we do with health systems, we know how complicated and poorly organized these systems are, despite all the money they're collecting," she said. Check out the pitch deck Adonis used to get $17.3 million led by General Catalyst.

Afterward, he was to have been the first sitting U.S. president to visit Papua New Guinea. In Sydney, Biden had planned to attend a meeting of the four so-called Quad nations - the United States, Japan, Australia and India. White House spokesperson John Kirby said Biden would be able to meet Albanese and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi while in Hiroshima. Albanese said in a statement that Biden had apologized for not being able to visit Australia and that they would work to reschedule his visit at the earliest opportunity. “I'm sure the White House will find ways to make this up to partners in the short term.

Berkshire acquired 9.92 million shares in Capital One, a stake worth $954 million based on the closing price on March 31, regulatory filings showed on Monday. The bank's shares have shed around 15% since early March as the banking crisis has clobbered shares of U.S. regional lenders. Silicon Valley Bank, Signature Bank, and First Republic Bank are the three banks that have so far collapsed during the current crisis. The KBW Regional Banking Index (.KRX) fell 0.38%. Fed Vice Chair for Supervision Michael Barr said the central bank was "carefully considering" rule changes for larger regional banks, including requiring them to account for unrealized losses on their banks when considering capital levels.

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