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☆ Binance could lay off thousands as company buckles down for DOJ probe, source says
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-14 | by ( Rohan Goswami | In Rohangoswamicnbc | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Changpeng Zhao, billionaire and chief executive officer of Binance Holdings Ltd., speaks during a session at the Web Summit in Lisbon, Portugal, on Wednesday, Nov. 2, 2022. The cuts will eliminate 1,500 to 3,000 of Binance's global workforce, this person told CNBC, and will take place through the end of the year. The Justice Department probe will likely reshape the company fundamentally, the employee told CNBC. A Binance spokesperson disputed that the cuts would impact 3,000 employees, saying that the high-end number was "just not right." Binance itself has suffered significantly since the lawsuits from U.S. regulators, with exchange outflows running into the hundreds of millions.

Persons: Changpeng Zhao, Binance Organizations: Binance Holdings Ltd, Department, CNBC, Street, Justice Department, Reuters, Securities and Exchange Commission, Commodity Futures Trading Commission Locations: Lisbon, Portugal, U.S

☆ China's Alibaba unveils AI image generator to take on Midjourney and DALL-E
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-07 | by ( Josh Ye | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

HONG KONG, July 7 (Reuters) - Alibaba Group Holdings Ltd (9988.HK) announced on Friday an artificial intelligence (AI) image generator, initially available to enterprise customers in beta form, as it ramps up its offerings in the fast-growing AI sector. The image generator, Tongyi Wanxiang, will compete with OpenAI's DALL-E and Midjourney Inc's Midjourney, U.S.-based rivals that have gained a large following worldwide. Alibaba Cloud, recently formed from a massive overhaul that split the Chinese tech major into six units, has also released a ChatGPT-like text generator, Tongyi Qianwen, which was launched in April. Baidu Inc (9888.HK) and SenseTime Group Inc <0020.HK > also recently unveiled AI image generators, although generative AI services have yet to receive regulatory approval for wide distribution in China. The Tongyi Wanxiang image generator, which roughly translates as "truth from tens of thousands of pictures", was revealed at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai on Friday.

Persons: Wanxiang, OpenAI's DALL, Inc's Midjourney, OpenAI's, chatbot, Josh Ye, Edmund Klamann Organizations: Alibaba Group Holdings, HK, McKinsey, Baidu Inc, SenseTime, Artificial Intelligence, Thomson Locations: HONG KONG, U.S, China, Shanghai

☆ Grab cuts 1,000 jobs, its biggest round of layoffs since the pandemic
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-21 | by ( Audrey Wan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

The headquarters of Grab Holdings Ltd., in Singapore. Grab Holdings Ltd., reported its latest earnings on Feb. 23, 2023. Singapore-based Grab Holdings is cutting over 1,000 jobs, its CEO said Tuesday, in a bid to manage costs and reorganize the company in a competitive landscape. This is the group's largest round of layoffs since 2020, when it cut 360 jobs in response to Covid-19 pandemic challenges. Even without layoffs, Tan said Grab is on track to hit breakeven this year on group adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization.

Persons: Anthony Tan, Tan Organizations: Grab Holdings Locations: Singapore

☆ Exclusive: Mutual funds may not get holdings waiver post HDFC Bank - HDFC merger - sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-14 | by ( Jayshree P Upadhyay | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

HDFC Bank and HDFC - both heavily owned by mutual funds - are set to conclude a merger in the next few weeks to create India's second-largest financial institution by assets after the State Bank of India. At least 60 equity mutual fund schemes will see their combined exposure to HDFC Bank and HDFC overshoot the 10% cap as of Wednesday. The matter has been referred to the Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI), according to two mutual fund executives. "HDFC Bank and HDFC are fairly liquid stocks and have a lot of demand. Shares of HDFC Bank have risen 6.5% since April 1, 2022, but have still underperormed the broader BSE Bankex, which is up 17%.

Persons: SEBI, Deven Choksey, Jayshree, Varun, Dhanya Ann Thoppil Organizations: HDFC Bank, Reuters, HDFC, State Bank of India, Securities and Exchange Board of India, Association of Mutual Funds, KRChoksey Holdings, Thomson Locations: MUMBAI, India

The growth in bookings is largely driven by pent-up demand from loyal customers returning to taking summer vacations and other leisure travel, said the analysts. JPMorgan upgraded Carnival shares to "overweight", while Bank of America raised its rating on the stock to "buy", and the analysts raised their price targets on all the three cruise companies. Carnival shares rose 14% to a more than 1-year high in early trading on Monday while Norwegian Cruise gained nearly 8%. The S&P 500 Hotels Resorts & Cruise Lines Sub-Industry Index was up 0.9% led by gains in cruise stocks. Commercial airline shares were also making gains on Monday amid falling crude oil prices and growth in demand for seats.

Persons: Chibuike Oguh, Granth Vanaik, Stephen Culp, Lance Tupper, David Gregorio Our Organizations: YORK, Carnival Corp, Cruise Line Holdings, JPMorgan, Bank of America Global Research, Carnival, Royal Caribbean Cruises, Bank of America, Norwegian Cruise, Royal, Hotels Resorts, Cruise, Southwest Airlines, Hawaiian Holdings, American Airlines, Thomson Locations: Royal Caribbean, New York

☆ Crypto prices stabilize after plunging on SEC crackdown jitters
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-12 | by ( Sheila Chiang | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The Binance website on a laptop arranged in the Brooklyn borough of New York, US, on Wednesday, June 7, 2023. The list of digital tokens deemed as unregistered securities by the Securities and Exchange Commission now spans over $120 billion of crypto after the US agencys lawsuits against Binance Holdings Ltd. and Coinbase Global Inc. The SEC sued Coinbase and Binance last week, accusing both of selling unregistered securities, among other charges. On Tuesday, the U.S. regulator alleged that Coinbase was operating as an unregistered exchange and broker, and that 13 assets listed on its platform were considered crypto asset securities. On Monday, it also accused Binance of inflating trading volumes, diverting customer funds and misleading customers about its controls, among others.

Persons: Gabby Jones, Coinbase, Ripple's XRP, Binance's, Binance Organizations: Securities and Exchange Commission, Binance Holdings, Coinbase Global Inc, Bloomberg, Getty, U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, SEC, Polygon's Locations: Brooklyn, New York, U.S

George Clinical declined to comment. The private equity firm has entered a deal to buy most of George Clinical, the clinical research organisation said in December, adding the transaction was subject to FIRB approval. George Clinical did not disclose a sale price but said its parent, the George Institute, a medical research group, would retain an undefined stake. The George Clinical deal would involve the holding of healthcare and patient data which is considered sensitive in Australia. Hillhouse has offered to ensure data remains onshore and not be shared overseas, the people said.

Persons: George Clinical, Hillhouse, Zhang Lei, George, George Clinical's, Scott Murdoch, Kane Wu, Sumeet Chatterjee, Christopher Cushing Organizations: Hillhouse Capital, Foreign Investment, Board, of, Treasury, George Institute, Yale University, Tencent Holdings, HK, JD.com Inc, Baidu Inc, Koninklijke Philips NV, Thomson, & $ Locations: HONG KONG, Beijing, Hong Kong, Singapore, London, United States, Australia, China, Refinitiv, Netherlands, Asia, Pacific, Sydney

☆ Investors pull $790 million from crypto exchange Binance after SEC charges
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-06 | by ( Rohan Goswami | In Rohangoswamicnbc | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Crypto investors pulled $791.6 million from the crypto exchange Binance in 24 hours, crypto research firm Nansen said Tuesday, after U.S. regulators unveiled 13 securities charges against the company and its founder, Changpeng Zhao. After the collapse of allegedly fraudulent crypto exchange FTX in November 2022, investors moved their assets to a number of exchanges, but Binance won the lion's share of those inflows. Investors withdrew $1.65 billion worth of assets from Binance and $13 million from contested Binance's U.S. arm on the Ethereum blockchain after the charges were unveiled. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission had already unveiled a similar set of charges against the crypto exchange earlier this year. Correction: This story has been updated to reflect that the Securities and Exchange Commission brought the charges against Binance and Zhao.

Persons: Changpeng Zhao, Nansen, Binance, Zhao, Sam Bankman Organizations: Binance Holdings Ltd, Monday's Securities, Exchange Commission, Investors, U.S, SEC, Futures Trading Commission, Securities and Exchange Commission, Binance Locations: Lisbon, Portugal, Binance, U.S

[1/5] TANAKA whose real name is Kim Kyung-wook, speaks during an interview with Reuters in Seoul, South Korea, May 16, 2023. Now Kim exemplifies the changing attitudes of young Koreans as ties with Japan thaw. DEMAND REBOUNDThe quarrels are being left behind as the enthusiasm of young Koreans fuels a sharp rebound in demand for Japanese consumer products. That compared with a 90% drop in imports of Japanese beer in 2019, when the intensifying feuds made it an early target of a sweeping boycott. "China is clearly less preferred than countries like the United States and Japan," Kim said, citing Beijing's curbs on freedom in Hong Kong and during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Persons: TANAKA, Kim Kyung, Kim Hong, Ji, Jeong, Tanaka, idolises, I've, it's, Kim, Fumio Kishida, Yoon Suk, James Kim, Hyonhee Shin, Heekyong Yang, Jimin Jung, Daewoung Kim, Clarence Fernandez Organizations: Reuters, REUTERS, South, Korea's, Relations, Asahi Group Holdings, Costco, Hankook Research, Asan Institute, Policy Studies, Thomson Locations: Seoul, South Korea, Ji SEOUL, South Korean, Japan, Tokyo, Korean, China, Russia, North Korea, United States, Hong Kong

☆ In Australian defamation court, a proxy 'war crimes trial' nears judgement
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-30 | by ( Byron Kaye | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The accusations are at the heart of Australia's costliest and second longest-running defamation lawsuit for which a judgement is scheduled on Thursday. Legal experts say that while the civil hearing focused on reputational damage brought by a series of 2018 articles, it effectively played out as the country's first war crimes trial. No soldiers were named in the redacted report but about two dozen current and former Australian soldiers were referred for potential criminal prosecution. Roberts-Smith, one of just 101 soldiers to receive the Victoria Cross, sued the newspapers in 2020, saying they falsely accused him of being complicit in war crimes. He seeks compensatory damages, aggravated damages and damages for future economic loss, although his lawyers did not give a total amount sought.

☆ China grants approvals to 86 domestic online games
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

BEIJING, May 22 (Reuters) - China's gaming regulator on Monday granted publishing licences to 86 domestic online games, including titles belonging to Tencent Holdings Ltd (0700.HK), NetEase Inc (9999.HK) and other developers. Reporting by Beijing Newsroom; editing by Jason NeelyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Alibaba misses revenue estimate, approves cloud unit spinoff
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

"We would love nothing more than to see one of these little Alibabas...becoming another big Alibaba, as big as the group company is right now," said Alibaba Group chairman Daniel Zhang on an earnings call. Alibaba logged revenue of 208.20 billion yuan ($30.12 billion) for the three months ended in March, compared with a Refinitiv consensus estimate of 210.3 billion yuan. Net income attributable to ordinary shareholders was 23.52 billion yuan for the quarter, reversing a year earlier loss of 16.24 billion yuan. Revenue for Alibaba's cloud division in the recent quarter was 18.6 billion yuan, down 2% year-on-year. The company has opened up registration to test the technology to enterprise customers of Alibaba Cloud.

☆ Grab beats quarterly revenue estimates
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

May 18 (Reuters) - Grab Holdings Ltd (GRAB.O) beat first-quarter revenue estimates on Thursday, driven by growth in its core rideshare and food-delivery businesses. Revenue more than doubled to $525 million in the quarter ended March, inching past analysts' estimate of $504.3 million, according to Visible Alpha. Reporting by Yuvraj Malik in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju SamuelOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ UK equities rise on upbeat global mood, BT Group tumbles on weak cash flow
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Johann M Cherian | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

"There's clearly a lack of real strategy and it's not enough to just say we're going to cut costs. Vodafone Group Plc (VOD.L) earlier this week said it would cut 11,000 jobs globally over three years after it warned that a poor performance in its biggest market Germany would hit cash flow. The blue-chip FTSE 100 (.FTSE) rose 0.6%, reflecting an upbeat mood in global markets on hopes that Washington is edging closer to a deal to raise the U.S. debt ceiling and avert a default. Among other movers, luxury group Burberry Group Plc (BRBY.L) fell 6.2% as continued weakness in the United States overshadowed a stronger-than-expected fourth quarter sales driven by a rebound in China. EasyJet Plc rose 1% after the airline posted a first-half loss in line with its guidance.

☆ China's Tencent marks return to revenue growth in first quarter
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Josh Ye | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The world's largest video game company and operator of the WeChat messaging platform said revenue reached 149.98 billion yuan ($21.70 billion) for the three months ended March 31. Net profit rose 11% to 25.83 billion yuan, versus a 29.67 billion yuan average analyst estimate. Domestic gaming revenue gained 6% to 35.1 billion yuan while international gaming revenue rose 25% to 13.2 billion yuan. Tencent also saw revenue from online ads rose 17% to 21 billion yuan. Revenue from fintech and business services grew 14% to 48.7 billion yuan as the firm continued to expand in those areas.

☆ China's Tencent Music revenue beats estimates on jump in paying users
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

May 16 (Reuters) - China's Tencent Music Entertainment Group (1698.HK), topped quarterly revenue estimates on Tuesday as the Spotify-like music streaming platform benefited from growth in paying users, sending its U.S. shares 2% higher in premarket trading. That helped the Tencent Holdings Ltd-controlled company, which owns platforms including QQ Music, Kuwo Music and WeSing, snap five consecutive quarters of revenue declines. Total revenue rose 5.4% to 7.00 billion yuan ($1.01 billion) in the first quarter, beating analysts' estimates of 6.86 billion yuan, according to Refinitiv data. "We are glad to achieve a record-high online music paying ratio and expand ARPU for the fourth consecutive quarter. Net profit attributable to equity holders was 1.15 billion yuan, compared with 609 million yuan a year earlier.

☆ Futu, UP Fintech shares fall on plan to remove apps in China
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SHANGHAI, May 16 (Reuters) - New York-listed shares in Futu Holdings Ltd and UP Fintech Holding Ltd plunged in pre-market trading on Tuesday, after the online brokerages said they will remove their apps in mainland China following guidance from regulators. U.S.-listed shares of Futu slumped more than 15% in pre-market trading, while UP Fintech dropped roughly 10%. It added the company remains dedicated to serving existing clients in mainland China. It's not clear if Hong Kong units of Chinese brokerages, such as China International Capital Corp and Haitong Securities, also need to remove their apps in China. Futu, which has delayed its Hong Kong listing plan, holds a licence in Hong Kong, Singapore and the United States.

☆ Chinese baby product firms seek to age up, sell more abroad as population falls
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( Farah Master | Thomson Reuters | Farah Master Is A Senior Correspondent At Reuters Where She Focuses On Health | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

HONG KONG, May 11 (Reuters) - For many of China's manufacturers of baby and children's products, painful reverberations from last year's historic decline in the country's population are already upon them. Hong Kong-listed Health and Happiness (H&H) (1112.HK), which gains nearly half of its revenue from baby products such as infant formula, food and diapers, is one such company. China's market for baby food and diapers is the world's largest at $37.9 billion, accounting for around a third of global sales annually, according to research from Euromonitor. Adult diaper revenue, however, shot up 13% - highlighting how China's rapidly ageing population is prompting shifts in consumer spending. Reuters GraphicsShares for the three firms now trade between a third and a fifth of their all-time highs.

[1/2] The logo of SoftBank Group Corp is displayed at SoftBank World 2017 conference in Tokyo, Japan, July 20, 2017. The fourth-quarter earnings come after the Vision Fund unit posted four consecutive quarters of investment loss, with investors debating whether the value of privately held stakes have further to fall. Portfolio firms of the Vision Fund unit whose shares climbed during January-March include e-commerce firm Coupang Inc (CPNG.N) and robotics firm AutoStore Holdings Ltd (AUTO.OL). What matters is Arm for SoftBank to demonstrate it can get results as an investment company," said SMBC Nikko Securities analyst Satoru Kikuchi. Still, SoftBank executives are unlikely to offer meaningful new information about the Arm listing on Thursday, Kikuchi said.

Companies Binance Holdings Ltd FollowMay 5 (Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department is investigating whether Binance Holdings was illegally used to let Russians skirt U.S. sanctions and move money through the cryptocurrency exchange, Bloomberg News reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter. Regulators globally have long called for tighter controls on crypto exchanges including Binance, the world's largest, to prevent illegal activities - from money laundering to the financing of terrorism. The recent seizures by Israel's NBCTF also highlight how governments are targeting crypto companies in their efforts to prevent illegal activity. Binance and the DoJ did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment. Reporting by Jose Joseph in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju SamuelOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

2 lender, fell short of analyst forecasts in half-year profit released on Thursday and took a hit to its share price after warning that the windfall from rising interest rates had peaked. The update signals a tough new phase for Australia's lenders which have benefited from a year of rising interest rates by charging more to borrowers while limiting the amount they pay deposit-holders. "What the market's concerned about is the exit NIM (net interest margin)," said Hugh Dive, chief investment officer at Atlas Funds Management which holds bank stocks. In personal banking, which includes mortgages, profit shrank slightly due to a A$393 million impairment charge. The bank had telephoned 7,000 borrowers deemed to be most vulnerable to rising interest rates and just 13 had requested assistance.

☆ ANZ's half-year profit tops estimates but outlook downbeat
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Competition in retail banking is as intense as it has ever been, both in Australia and New Zealand," Chief Executive Officer Shayne Elliott said. 2 lender National Australia bank (NAB.AX) said its margins had peaked during the last half and warned of uncertainties amid a tougher credit environment ahead. ANZ's net interest margin, a key gauge of profitability, was at 1.75% at the end of March, compared with 1.58% last year. Margins at the Australian lender have swelled from a series of interest rate hikes by the central bank since May last year, but analysts have warned margins could plateau going forward. ($1 = 1.4945 Australian dollars)Reporting by Navya Mittal and Savyata Mishra in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju SamuelOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Singapore's DBS Bank posts record first-quarter profit, beating estimates
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Singapore's biggest bank DBS reported record first-quarter profit on Tuesday, rising a stronger-than-expected 43% from a year earlier on a higher net interest margin, sustained business momentum and resilient asset quality. Southeast Asia's largest lender by assets however said its net interest margin likely peaked in the first quarter and there would be a gradual decline. January-March net profit rose to 2.57 billion Singapore dollars ($1.9 billion) from S$1.8 billion a year ago, beating a mean estimate of S$2.44 billion from five analysts polled by Refinitiv. DBS reported a total net interest margin, a key gage of profitability, of 2.12% for the first quarter, up from 1.46% in the same period a year earlier. DBS expected full-year net interest margin at 2.05% to 2.10%.

☆ Short investor Hindenburg erases fifth of Icahn empire’s value
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

In a report published on Tuesday, Hindenburg accused IEP of overvaluing its holdings and relying on a “Ponzi-like” structure to pay dividends. The subsequent plunge in IEP shares wiped $2.9 billion off Icahn’s net worth, leaving him with an estimated $14.7 billion, according to Forbes. NAV is a key gauge of a fund’s performance, measuring the market value of securities held by the fund. Driving the frothiness in IEP’s stock, Hindenburg argued, is its dividend yield of 15.8%, the highest of any US large cap company by far. Hindenburg also offered examples it said showed IEP itself was valuing its holdings way above their market value.

☆ Recession talk tapers off on latest quarterly conference calls
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Noel Randewich | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

May 2 (Reuters) - While Wall Street frets that the Federal Reserve's aggressive interest rate hikes will tip the U.S. economy into a recession, discussions on recent quarterly conference calls hint that corporations and analysts have become a bit less concerned. Reports for the first quarter broadly point to shrinking profits for the U.S.' largest companies but less than analysts feared. Reuters GraphicsDiscussion about economic downturns appears to have been relatively limited on recent quarterly analyst conference calls. Terms related to "recession" have been mentioned on 41% of conference calls held in recent weeks by companies in the S&P 500. That compares to 535 mentions on analyst calls for the entirety of the previous quarterly reporting season, equivalent to 1.1 mentions per call.

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