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☆ Asian American voters could help decide the Senate runoff in Georgia, experts say
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( Sakshi Venkatraman | Sakshi Venkatraman Is A Reporter For Nbc Asian America. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +6 min

“We’re also meeting people at their doors.”When it came to appealing to South Asian voters in Georgia, Nabilah Islam said her “secret weapon” had been under her nose for years. During her recent campaign for state Senate, the 33-year-old Bangladeshi American brought conversations about issues to aunties and uncles on their home turf: WhatsApp. She's now the first South Asian ever elected to the Georgia state Senate. A bloc starting to gain more recognitionAccording to Karthick Ramakrishnan, co-director of AAPI Data, the concerted efforts to appeal to Asian voters in Georgia are reflected in nationwide politics. Steps like these prove grassroots efforts to appeal to AAPI voters work, Makhija said.

Slightly over 15 million Twitter users voted in the poll with 51.8% voting in favor of reinstatement. Trump will be reinstated," Musk tweeted. Some users initially reported being unable to follow the reinstated account on Saturday evening. He also said Twitter would not reinstate any banned users until there was a "clear process for doing so." He has used Truth Social to promote his allies, criticize opponents and defend his reputation amid legal scrutiny from state, congressional and federal investigators.

Slightly over 15 million Twitter users voted in the poll with 51.8% voting in favor of reinstatement. But Trump also said Twitter suffered from bots, fake accounts and that the problems it faced were "incredible". He also said Twitter would not reinstate any banned users until there was a "clear process for doing so." Truth Social has been Trump’s main source of direct communication with his followers since he began posting on the app regularly in May. He has used Truth Social to promote his allies, criticize opponents and defend his reputation amid legal scrutiny from state, congressional and federal investigators.

☆ Asian Americans have some of the highest levels of support for abortion rights — and it's driving them to vote
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-05 | by ( Sakshi Venkatraman | Sakshi Venkatraman Is A Reporter For Nbc Asian America. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +9 min

With studies finding that Asian American and Pacific Islanders show some of the highest levels of support for abortion rights, community leaders are expecting this issue to drive Asian Americans to the polls — many for the first time ever. “AAPIs view abortion not as the singular act of abortion, but as health care,” said Varun Nikore, executive director of the nonprofit AAPI Victory Alliance. While some researchers point to flaws in the polling (most notably that Pew only surveyed English speakers), they say there’s no doubt that Asians show the highest level of support when it comes to abortion rights. “That tells me that abortion rights and reproductive rights are likely what’s driving that prioritization,” said Karthick Ramakrishnan, founder and director of demographic data and policy research at AAPI Data. A younger crop of Asian voters newly engaged by the Dobbs ruling are initiating these conversations with their elders, too.

☆ No liquidity distress in U.S. bonds: NY Fed economist
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( Shankar Ramakrishnan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Nov 4 (Reuters) - Cost of new debt for companies may be at a premium but there is no liquidity distress yet in the U.S. corporate bond markets, said Nina Boyarchenko, head of microfinance studies at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and a developer of the Corporate Bond Market Distress Index (CMDI). The index, with historical data dating back to 2005, for U.S. investment grade bonds touched a new two-year high of 0.52 on Oct. 21. That level is just 13 points away from the 0.65 level touched at the height of the COVID-19 crisis when the Fed announced a liquidity backstop for corporate credit markets. CMDI for high-yield bonds, meanwhile, stood at 0.24 versus 0.60 at the height of the COVID crisis. "From the perspective of market functioning, it is not really a sign of distress," she said.

☆ Banks plan to sell Tenneco buyout debt next week -sources
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-28 | by ( Matt Tracy | Shankar Ramakrishnan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Banks led by Citigroup Inc (C.N) and Bank of America Corp (BAC.N) aim to begin marketing a portion of the Tenneco debt package's secured portion as early as next week, said one of the sources. The package consists of a $2.4 billion leveraged loan, a $2 billion secured bond, and a $1 billion unsecured bond. This activity is rekindling hope among banks that they may not have to suffer big loses to shed junk-rated debt from their balance sheet. If the Tenneco syndication goes well, banks are sitting on plenty of junk-rated debt they may seek to offload. This includes $11 billion in debt backing the takeover of media analytics company Nielsen and $13 billion of debt for Elon Musk’s acquisition of Twitter.

"From a markets perspective, you have to be cautious going forward," said Michael O'Rourke, chief market strategist at JonesTrading. "They're the biggest stocks in the market, and we really haven't had much of anything good come out of any of them." The Fed has already raised rates by 300 basis points this year as it fights the worst inflation in decades. "The big technology companies like Amazon continued hiring to support a business that looks like the year 2021, and it's not 2021. Despite the big stock price drops, some investors see more pain for the big tech-focused names.

ZURICH/NEW YORK, Oct 28 (Reuters) - After months of reflecting, Credit Suisse's chairman Axel Lehmann revealed an overhaul "to rebuild Credit Suisse as a strong ... bank with a firm foundation, rock-solid like our Swiss mountains". On Thursday, Credit Suisse outlined plans to raise 4 billion Swiss francs from investors, cut thousands of jobs and shift its focus from investment banking towards its rich clients. Credit Suisse said its clients pulled funds in recent weeks at a pace that led the lender to breach some regulatory requirements for liquidity, underscoring the deep impact of wild market swings and social media speculation about its health. It will separate its investment bank to create CS First Boston, focused on advisory work such as mergers and acquisitions and arranging deals on capital markets. And that's the pond that Credit Suisse is swimming in."

☆ Analysis: U.S. junk bond investors face tough choice as yields spike
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( Matt Tracy | Shankar Ramakrishnan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

WASHINGTON, Oct 27 (Reuters) - A sell-off in the U.S junk bond market is presenting investors with a buying opportunity but some are holding back, worried that a looming recession could spark widespread credit defaults. That level is the highest for yields since April 2020, while the index is down some 13% this year. That level is a critical zone of credit stress where credit markets become vulnerable to dysfunction, said Oleg Melentyev, credit strategist at the bank. DEARTH OF OFFERINGSAt the same time, risk aversion has slowed new bond issuance in the primary high-yield market to a trickle. That could change in 2023, however, if a recession further dampens activity in primary markets and borrowing costs remain high, spurring potential defaults in the lowest rungs of junk-rated bonds.

Elon Musk photo, Twitter logos and U.S. dollar banknotes are seen in this illustration, August 10, 2022. The banks, which include Morgan Stanley and Barclays Plc (BARC.L), did not respond to requests for comment. Representatives for Musk and Twitter did not immediately respond to requests for comment. He has not revealed details on Twitter's new leadership and business plan, and many debt investors are holding back until they get more details on that front, the sources said. The debt package for the Twitter deal is comprised of junk-rated loans, which are risky because of the amount of debt the company is taking on, as well as secured and unsecured bonds.

Typically, banks would sell the debt to investors and pocket an underwriting fee. Elon Musk vs TwitterThe debate, currently a topic of conversation among investment bankers and debt investors, provides a window into the havoc wreaked on Wall Street by Musk’s U-turn last week. Musk, however, conditioned his proposal on his ability to secure debt financing and now has until Oct. 28 to close on the transaction. VARIOUS OPTIONSThe debt financing package is comprised of leveraged loans, which are risky because of the amount of debt the company is taking on, as well as secured and unsecured bonds. In September, banks financing the Citrix buyout undertook a similar restructuring.

☆ Majority of Asian Americans in Texas want to vote but haven’t been reached out to
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-28 | by ( Kimmy Yam | Kimmy Yam Is A Reporter For Nbc Asian America. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +6 min

Sixty-four percent of the state’s Asian American and Pacific Islander electorate is “highly motivated” to vote in the midterm elections, the civil rights nonprofit group Asian Texans for Justice said in a new poll. … We need to be listened to.”Researchers surveyed 2,700 likely voters in Texas, including 660 Asian Americans, in July. The research also finds a large gender divide, with 49% of Asian American and Pacific Islander women identifying as Democrats, nearly twice the proportion of men. Asian American and Pacific Islander men are more likely to identify as Republicans, at 38%, or independents, at 35%. The report found that Asian American voters in Texas are more likely to be immigrants compared to all other races.

While loans can be cheaper than issuing bonds, shorter-term debt is currently more expensive than longer tenors. Typically companies take a bridge loan to fund mergers but then pay it down with a long-dated bond issue before closing. The tech giant also doubled the size of its commercial paper program to $6 billion and said that it could expand the size of the term loan to $6 billion. "If a term loan is necessary due to timing of the deal closing, we expect to pay it back quickly," the company said. In the market for junk bonds, for example, some companies are paying higher rates to raise funds.

☆ Group launches $10 million push to reach Asian American voters in battleground states
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-20 | by ( Zachary Schermele | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

The Asian American Power Network, a progressive advocacy group, has launched a $10 million effort to turn out Asian American voters in seven key battleground states ahead of the midterms. In the 2020 presidential election, the number of Asian Americans who voted in five battleground states was larger than the presidential margin of victory, according to the nonpartisan group Asian and Pacific Islander American Vote, or APIAVote. Just over 40% of Asian American voters who spoke a language other than English at home said they would use voting assistance if it was available in their own language, the survey showed. The survey showed that the three most important issues to Asian American voters were health care, the economy and crime. Ramakrishnan said the combination of redistricting and Roe v. Wade’s reversal is adding to campaigns’ uncertainty about voter behavior in November, so Asian American voters could play a key role.

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