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☆ The credit crunch is here and it could cripple the economy. Here's what Larry Summers, Nouriel Roubini and 7 other experts have said on the emerging threat.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Zinya Salfiti | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Latest bank lending data suggests the credit crunch "has already started," according to Morgan Stanley strategists. Here's a selection of recent warnings on the emerging threat from experts including Larry Summers, David Solomon, Mike Wilson, Nouriel Roubini and Bill Gross. Apollo Asset Management's Jim Zelter told Bloomberg "it's not a credit crunch" but rather a "transition period" as markets face higher debt costs. "That credit crunch is going to make the likelihood of a recession — a hard landing — much greater than before. "Whether this qualifies as a full-blown 'credit crunch' remains to be seen.

☆ Credit squeeze 'biggest threat' to economic outlook, Fidelity says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Nell Mackenzie | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Brittany Hosea-Small/File Photo/File PhotoPARIS, April 19 (Reuters) - The biggest threat to the economic outlook is a credit squeeze that has not finished filtering through the financial system, a senior official at Fidelity Investments told a European equities conference on Wednesday. The "biggest threat" to the economy is a "true and visible credit crunch", Romain Boscher, chairman of the board at Fidelity Investments, which has about $4.5 trillion of assets under management, told the conference. Higher rates should be a permanent expectation, he said. Dhar said if credit conditions tightened enough, the U.S. would slip into a recession in the second half of the year. Harsher economic conditions and higher rates have changed priorities for asset manager portfolios, both said.

☆ Credit squeeze 'biggest threat' to economic outlook - asset managers
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Nell Mackenzie | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Brittany Hosea-Small/File Photo/File PhotoPARIS, April 19 (Reuters) - The biggest threat to the economic outlook is a credit squeeze that has not finished filtering through the financial system, two senior asset managers told a European equities conference on Wednesday. For asset managers, hedge funds and traders gathered in Paris for the Tradetech equity trading conference, recession risks were a key talking point. Higher rates should be a permanent expectation, he said. Dhar said if credit conditions tightened enough, the U.S. would slip into a recession in the second half of the year. Harsher economic conditions and higher rates have changed priorities for asset manager portfolios, both said.

☆ A Fidelity fund manager who's beaten 93% of competitors in the past 5 years shares his strategy for delivering upside while avoiding painful selloffs — and explains how he finds 'mispriced growth' sto
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-16 | by ( James Faris | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The Fidelity Puritan Fund has dominated in the past five years under Dan Kelley. Here's how the portfolio manager finds underpriced growth stocks that are still high quality. Meanwhile, about half of the fund's bonds are US Treasuries, and just 11.5% are high-yield. How to find mispriced growth in marketsWhen looking for stocks, Kelley said his focus is on finding "mispriced growth" companies, which is similar to what many fund managers call "growth at a reasonable price," or GARP. That's the same mindset that's kept the Fidelity Puritan Fund going for nearly eight decades.

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☆ Fidelity's latest valuation markdowns of companies like Stripe and Instacart paints a grim picture for late-stage startups
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Samantha Stokes | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Over the last year, Fidelity's mutual fund has cut the value of its late-stage startup investments. Stripe, one of the biggest startups that was handsomely rewarded during this funding peak, has now lost its luster among investors, including Fidelity. The asset manager, which has invested in Stripe through its mutual fund, marked down the value of its Stripe investment by nearly 20% in February compared to the previous month, according to new data released by the mutual fund. Fidelity has invested in recent funding rounds of Stripe and other high-profile startups via its $55 billion Growth Company Fund. Since January 2022, Fidelity's per-share valuation of Stripe has dropped by more than 40%.

NEW YORK, March 29 (Reuters) - Fidelity National Financial Inc (FNF.N) will pay $3.5 million to settle New York Attorney General Letitia James' claims that the largest U.S. title insurer illegally conspired with rivals not to solicit each other's employees. Under an agreement made public on Wednesday, Fidelity also agreed to end all "no-poach" agreements within 30 days, and cooperate with James' probe into the title insurance industry. James said no-poach agreements, whether written or oral, reduce competition for workers, resulting in lower wages and benefits and impeding career growth. It promised to notify James' office if it learned of illegal no-poach agreements over the next 10 years. Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; editing by Jonathan OatisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Why this could be the 'best time' to contribute to a retirement plan, according to an advisor
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( Jessica Dickler | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

said Louis Barajas, CEO of International Private Wealth Advisors, a certified financial planner and member of CNBC's Advisor Council. In fact, "this is the best time to continue to contribute." "Everybody wants to get out when there's uncertainty," Barajas said. 'Everyone is feeling pressure financially'After a tumultuous stretch, many older Americans are concerned about their retirement security. "We've had almost 12 years of a boom market, all they've seen is markets go up," Barajas said.

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☆ Retirement savers can position for a ‘comeback’ after 2022 losses, says advisor. Here’s how
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( Jessica Dickler | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

"It's important to remember that as long as you haven't sold those investments, you haven't realized the loss, either, and there is a potential for a comeback." It's reasonable to expect that portfolios will continue to improve in the next year, or even by year-end, she said. More from Personal Finance:Why Social Security retirement age, payroll tax may changeExperts argue Social Security retirement age shouldn't pass 67Return on waiting to claim Social Security is 'huge' Even if one sector of the financial markets performed well, you can't assume that will continue. After a tumultuous year, many older Americans are concerned about their retirement security. Nearly half, or 48%, of retired Americans believe they'll outlive their savings, a separate report by Clever Real Estate found.

☆ Here's how much Americans have in their retirement accounts — and what it means for you
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( Elizabeth Gravier | Jason Stauffer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

Fidelity Investment's latest analysis of its retirement accounts reveals Americans have, on average, six-figure balances in their IRA and 401(k) retirement accounts. As of the fourth quarter of 2022, the average balances in an IRA, 401(k) and 403(b) were (respectively) $104,000, $103,900 and $92,683. Betterment Learn More Minimum deposit and balance Minimum deposit and balance requirements may vary depending on the investment vehicle selected. For example, Betterment doesn't require clients to maintain a minimum investment account balance, but there is a ACH deposit minimum of $10. Wealthfront Learn More Minimum deposit and balance Minimum deposit and balance requirements may vary depending on the investment vehicle selected.

☆ Stripe, Instacart, and Reddit valuations fare better in Fidelity's latest filings, but it's still a sobering reminder of how far the tech market has tumbled
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Stephanie Palazzolo | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Stripe, Instacart, and Reddit fared better month-over-month in Fidelity's latest holdings report. The valuations of Stripe, Instacart, and Reddit all fared better in Fidelity's latest monthly holdings report, with Stripe seeing an over 20% bump from the previous month, according to recent filings. Although promising, the new valuations still serve as a sobering reminder of how far the tech industry has fallen from its 2021 highs. Faced with a muted welcome from the private markets, Stripe might not be the only company looking to the public markets for liquidity. But the public markets may prove more pain.

☆ Fidelity Investments to expand workforce by 4,000 in first half of 2023
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Feb 16 (Reuters) - Fidelity Investments is planning to increase its headcount by 4,000 in the first half of this year, a spokesperson for the asset manager said in an emailed statement on Thursday. Fidelity's announcement follows a strong year for hiring at the Boston, Massachusetts-based company, after the addition of 17,000 associates brought its headcount to 68,000. In its annual report published on Wednesday, the company posted a record-high 2022 revenue of $25.2 billion, up 5% from the year before. Operating income of $8 billion was 1% lower than 2021. Reporting by Niket Nishant in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika SyamnathOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Fund industry says proposed U.S. SEC rules would harm retirement savers
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( John Mccrank | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

NEW YORK, Feb 16 (Reuters) - The mutual fund industry is warning the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that new proposed rules aimed at better preparing open-end funds to weather distressed market conditions would harm investors saving for retirement. A November proposal from the SEC would require mutual funds, and some exchange-traded funds, to ensure that at least 10% of their net assets are highly liquid. It would also require a hard daily close of 4 p.m. Eastern time for mutual funds, and the use of "swing pricing." SEC Chairman Gary Gensler argued at the time the tweaks would ensure such funds are resilient and protect investors. But industry groups and fund managers criticized the proposal in public comments, describing them as misguided and harmful.

Hudson Bay Capital is unrelated to Canadian department store chain Hudson's Bay Co. Bed Bath & Beyond declined to comment earlier Tuesday on Hudson Bay Capital leading investment in the share sale. A shopping cart is seen at a Bed Bath & Beyond store in Manhattan, New York City, U.S., June 29, 2022. REUTERS/Andrew KellyPrices on Bed Bath & Beyond bonds due in 2024 climbed to 24 cents on the dollar from around 5 cents, a level still indicating financial distress. Bed Bath shares rose 2.7% in extended trading, after closing down 49% on Tuesday.

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☆ Retail investors flock to small-cap AI firms as Big Tech battles for share
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( Medha Singh | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Feb 7 (Reuters) - Retail investors are piling into small-cap firms that employ artificial intelligence amid intensifying competition between tech titans Google parent Alphabet and Microsoft to secure leadership in the next big driver of growth. The $3-billion AI software firm C3.ai was the fifth most actively traded on Fidelity's platform for small investors on Monday, while drawing record daily retail inflows worth $31.4 million, as per Vanda Research. "Small-cap firms have AI as a much larger part of their business than the larger ones," said Matthew Tuttle, chief executive officer of Tuttle Capital Management on the reason behind retail investors' focus on the smaller firms. SoundHound AI (SOUN.O), which offers a voice AI platform services, and Thailand's security firm Guardforce AI (GFAI.O) have more than doubled so far this year, while analytics firm BigBear.ai gained nine-fold in value. Google-owner Alphabet Inc (GOOGL.O) on Monday said it would launch a chatbot service Bard and more artificial intelligence for its search engine as well as developers.

The central bank lifted its main funds rate by 25 bps to its highest since 2007 as it continued its fight against inflation. Yet the S&P 500 (.SPX) hit a five-month high, as traders focused resolutely on the idea that the world's most influential central bank would change course soon. Government bond markets meanwhile continued to price in rate cuts by year-end as the economic cycle turns. Over in Europe, the European Central Bank delivered a hefty 50 bps hike on Thursday and promised more of the same for March and beyond. "In terms of the impact of (central bank) hawkishness on markets," he added, "this has significantly softened."

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☆ A night with Wall Street's stars: Take a look at Insider's celebration of top investors, dealmakers, and traders
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( Michelle Abrego | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Hello 10 Things on Wall Street readers! As you might know, for the last few years Insider has been highlighting some of the most talented young people on Wall Street. Take a look at all the photos from Insider's celebration of Wall Street's rising stars here. A decade after the private-equity giant helped launch Athene Holdings, more private money managers are moving into insurance as they hunt for higher yields, the Wall Street Journal reports. Adam Berry, head of US loan trading is leaving Wall Street to join the Philadelphia Eagles, according to Bloomberg.

☆ 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.

☆ Fidelity has marked down its Twitter shares by 60% since Musk's takeover
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | by ( Yun Li | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Fidelity, one of the co-investors that backed Elon Musk's Twitter takeover, has written down its stake in the social media platform by 60% since the deal closed in late October. Fidelity's Contrafund, with $91 billion assets under management, valued its Twitter shares at $21.2 million as of Dec. 30, according to a new disclosure posted on its website Sunday. The Boston-based asset manager holds Twitter shares in a few of its mutual funds under the name "X Holdings I Inc," and Fidelity evaluates its holdings on a monthly basis. Fidelity Blue Chip Growth Fund owned $7.8 million of Twitter shares at the end of 2022. Musk has sold billions of dollars worth of Tesla shares to finance the Twitter takeover, and pulled in talent from Tesla, SpaceX and the Boring Co. , including executives, engineers and lawyers, to assist him at Twitter.

☆ BuzzFeed soars on reports of Meta deal, plans to use OpenAI
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Jan 26 (Reuters) - Shares of BuzzFeed Inc (BZFD.O) jumped on Thursday on reports of a deal with Meta Platforms Inc (META.O) and plans to use artificial intelligence to personalize and enhance the digital media firm's online quizzes and content. Buzzfeed, in an emailed response to Reuters, said "we are not using ChatGPT - we are using OpenAI's publicly available API (application programming interface)." Earlier in the day, the stock had jumped 50% on a separate report by the Journal that said Meta was paying BuzzFeed millions of dollars to bring more creators to Facebook and Instagram. Indicating interest from retail traders, BuzzFeed shares were among the top three orders on Fidelity's platform on Thursday. Its third-quarter net loss had widened to $27 million from $3.6 million a year ago.

☆ Stripe's valuation was just slashed 20% by another big mutual fund
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( Samantha Stokes | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Principal's Large Cap Growth Fund slashed its valuation of Stripe by 20% in December. Mutual funds are continuing to prune the valuations of startups they invest in, and Stripe is once again feeling the heat. Principal's large-cap growth fund, which is sub-advised by T. Rowe Price and Brown Advisory, just slashed the valuation of the fintech startup by nearly 20% at the end of 2020. Given Principal's fund holds 114,126 shares, that means Stripe's per-share valuation dropped from $23 to $18.50 in a month. Fidelity's Contrafund, another mutual fund that has a stake in the payment processor, valued Stripe's stock at $40.12 at the end of November 2021.

☆ Bed Bath & Beyond surges for third day in meme-stock rally
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( Medha Singh | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] A person exits a Bed Bath & Beyond store in Manhattan, New York City, U.S., June 29, 2022. Among the top three companies traded on Fidelity's retail platform, Bed Bath & Beyond jumped 69% during the session and then another 20% after the bell. On Tuesday, Bed Bath & Beyond said it would lay off more employees to cut costs after reporting a bigger-than-expected quarterly loss. The rise and fall of Bed Bath & BeyondShort interest in Bed Bath & Beyond is $82.7 million, or 52.07% of its free float, analytics firm S3 Partners said in a research note. Bed Bath & Beyond's options volume was running nine times what is typical, based on recent trading, according to Trade Alert data.

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