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☆ Remote work is 'bullshit,' says real-estate billionaire Sam Zell, to cheers from fellow execs who profit from offices
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-23 | by ( Alex Nicoll | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Sam Zell said at a conference last week that remote work is "a bunch of bullshit." Office doomers abound, but real estate professionals t hink they just don't get it. Sam Zell, the notorious "Grave Dancer" of commercial real estate known for his salty tongue, is always happy to have a platform. He was in a cheeky mood, at least when the conversation turned to today's third-rail of commercial real estate: office properties abandoned by remote workers. The trend and dire outlook had real estate giant Brookfield defaulting on a loan tied to offices this month for the second time this year.

☆ India's ICICI Bank posts 30% jump in Q4 net profit
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MUMBAI, April 22 (Reuters) - India's ICICI Bank (ICBK.NS) on Saturday reported a 30% increase in fourth-quarter net profit helped by improved net interest income and growth in loans. Standalone net profit rose to a record 91.22 billion Indian rupees ($1.11 billion) from 70.19 billion a year earlier. Net interest income, the difference between interest earned and paid, rose 40.2% to 176.67 billion rupees while the private lender's net interest margin widened to 4.90% from 4%. "At this point in time, we are very comfortable with our deposit growth," Executive Director Sandeep Batra told reporters on a conference call. "I do not think deposit growth will be a constraint to our ability to grow our assets in a risk-calibrated manner."

☆ Palm oil's rare premium leads to 'wash out' in India -dealers
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Rajendra Jadhav | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Palm oil usually trades at a discount to soft oils, but import restrictions by top producer Indonesia have helped to push palm oil to a premium, making sun oil and soyoil more attractive to buyers. This has prompted some Indian buyers to reduce purchases of palm oil for May shipments and increase soft oil imports. Lower palm oil imports by India, the world's biggest buyer of vegetable oils, could weigh on Malaysian palm oil prices , but support soyoil and sunflower oil prices. But palm oil has moved to a premium at the same time as soft oil prices have dropped, partly due to a record rapeseed crop. Palm oil's discount to rival oils was much as $500 in the December quarter, but now it is holding a rare premium of more than $30 per tonne over sunoil for May shipments, dealers said.

☆ Newmont plumps final bid for Australia's Newcrest to $19.5 bln
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( Melanie Burton | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

If successful, the deal would lift Newmont's gold output to nearly double its nearest rival Barrick Gold Corp (ABX.TO). Newcrest said on Tuesday it had given U.S.-based Newmont access to its books following the sweetened all-share bid that has received some support from shareholders. The latest bid is 16% higher than Newmont's initial proposal, and represents around a 46% premium to Newcrest's share price on Feb. 3 before Newmont's first bid was announced. Reuters had reported that Newmont was open to raising its offer price for Newcrest. Barrick and miner Sibanye Stillwater Ltd (SSWJ.J) have told Reuters they are not interested in bidding for Newcrest.

☆ Asia is aging rapidly. Strategists reveal stocks to cash in — including tech
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( Weizhen Tan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

He recommended the Global X Aging Population ETF , which includes not just health-care companies and pharmaceutical firms, but also wearables and medical device companies such as Cochlear, GN Store Nord and Teleflex. China's 'very promising bets' Investors can look to focus on China's aging population by market reach or income segment, according to Leverage Shares' Rao. As for investors looking to get exposure to China's wealthier income segment, he named Raffles Medical, Asian Healthcare Specialists and IHH Healthcare — stocks that will also give similar exposure in other Asian countries. Dividend payers and financial services High-dividend-paying stocks as well as financial services are set to benefit from the aging population, according to analysts. Another potential beneficiary of aging populations is financial services, according to Rob Clarry, investment strategist at wealth manager Evelyn Partners.

☆ Newmont plumps offer for Australia's Newcrest to $19.5 bln
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( Melanie Burton | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Under the revised offer, Newcrest shareholders would receive 0.400 Newmont share for each share held, with an implied value of A$32.87 a share, up from a previous exchange ratio of 0.380 that Newcrest's board unanimously rejected in February. Newcrest shares rose by as much as 7% to A$30.28 but still traded below the implied offer price. The latest bid is 16% higher than Newmont's initial proposal, and represents a 46% premium to Newcrest's share price on Feb. 3 before Newmont's bid was announced, Newcrest said. Reuters had reported that Newmont was open to raising its offer price for Newcrest. The revised deal is just shy of Glencore's $22.5 billion takeover offer for Canada's Teck Resources Ltd's (TECKb.TO) that was announced earlier this month.

REUTERS/Daniel BecerrilLONDON, March 29 (Reuters) - Drugs that combat obesity could for the first time be included on the World Health Organization's "essential medicines list," used to guide government purchasing decisions in low- and middle-income countries, the U.N. agency told Reuters. A panel of advisers to the WHO will review new requests for drugs to be included next month, with an updated essential medicines list due in September. The request to consider obesity drugs was submitted by three doctors and a researcher in the United States. The majority – 70% - live in low- and middle-income countries. EXPANDING ACCESSIncluding obesity drugs among the WHO's essential medicines could have great significance for that population.

☆ WeWork CEO Sandeep Mathrani: Today's occupiers are looking for turnkey solutions
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailWeWork CEO Sandeep Mathrani: Today's occupiers are looking for turnkey solutionsWeWork CEO Sandeep Mathrani joins 'Squawk Box' to discuss his views on the state of work, pressures on WeWork's business, and more.

☆ As competition for the $45 billion retail media market heats up, one of its biggest players is expanding beyond advertising to stay on top
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( Lauren Johnson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Retail firm Pacvue is expanding beyond advertising. The firm made its name in e-commerce advertising but will now pitch advertisers on retail tech used to manage sales. Retail adtech firm Pacvue is moving beyond retail advertising, an industry that will be worth $45 billion in the US this year, according to Insider Intelligence, Insider's sister companyFour-year-old Pacvue is one of the biggest players in this space, handling $150 billion in gross merchandise value for retailers. At the same time, traditional adtech firms like Pubmatic, Magnite, and The Trade Desk are rolling out retail media products, creating even more retail media tools that brands must navigate. Pacvue is also expanding beyond retail media because it recognizes that there is a ceiling on how much brands will spend on retail advertising.

☆ First Republic just got a $30 billion lifeline from JPMorgan and other Wall Street giants. Here's why its problems aren't over.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( Hayley Cuccinello | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

JPMorgan and 10 other banks are depositing $30 billion in First Republic Bank. A white knight has arrived to First Republic Bank's rescue. A consortium of America's biggest banks including JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley, and Goldman Sachs are depositing a collective $30 billion in First Republic. This $30 billion lifeline may not be enough to reassure investors and depositors, and it may be a stopgap measure before a sale. The $70 billion lifeline from JPMorgan announced on Sunday did little to quell investors' concerns, Dahiya noted.

☆ SVB is still looking for a buyer. Here is what we know so far.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( Hayley Cuccinello | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The weekend came and went without a buyer for SVB Financial Group, the parent company of the failed Silicon Valley Bank. SVB Capital focuses on venture capital and credit investing and SVB Securities is its investment banking arm. Axios reported Monday morning that JPMorgan and PNC were in talks to acquire SVB Financial Group but not the failed commercial bank. SVB Securities, better known as SVB Leerink, the investment banking arm born out of SVB's 2018 acquisition of Leerink, is a very desirable business, he added. "SVB Leerink is a well-known name in the tech and healthcare space that will be attractive to someone," said Healy.

☆ Silicon Valley Bank's collapse means startups and VCs face billions in losses
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-11 | by ( Ryan Hogg | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

SVB's startup and VC customers are staring down huge losses after its failure. A buyer is being sought for the failed bank by Monday to avoid more calamity for startups. SVB customers stare down big lossesIn a report on Friday, the ratings agency Moody's said it expected a recovery rate of 80% to 90% for uninsured depositors. While there were likely billions in deposits withdrawn prior to SVB's closure, there's still likely to be many billions left at risk. SVB's deposits soared in recent years as it became the go-to lender in the VC ecosystem.

☆ Hundreds of startups face a crippling cash crunch and an 'extinction-level event' if no one buys Silicon Valley Bank by Monday
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-11 | by ( Ryan Hogg | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Silicon Valley Bank's collapse has left hundreds of startups facing a cash crunch and payroll crisis. It leaves hundreds of startups that deposited their cash with the bank in turmoil, as they try to continue operating while millions in funds are locked up. Startups scramble for cashThe need for startups to make payroll is one being echoed across the VC ecosystem. In a tweet, founder Nikita Bier said: "The number of growth stage companies that had their cash at SVB is huge. Even startups that didn't bank directly with SVB have been hit by its collapse.

☆ Who will step up to buy SVB? The white knight might be a bank outside Wall Street.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-11 | by ( Hayley Cuccinello | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

SVB Bank, which catered to startups and tech founders, imploded in three days after a run on the bank. SVB Financial is reportedly looking to find a buyer by Monday. The implosion of Silicon Valley Bank means a working weekend for some bankers. SVB Financial Group is on the hunt for a buyer after regulators closed its Silicon Valley Banking business, according to Bloomberg. Though SVB's bond losses are taking up the headlines, its parent company SVB Financial has two business segments that are enticing.

☆ Premarket stocks: Why today's inflation report is so important
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( Nicole Goodkind | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Recent data has shown that inflation is still hot, and that the economy is rip-roaring. On Thursday, JPMorgan Chase (JPM) CEO Jamie Dimon publicly expressed his doubt in the central bank’s ability to control inflation. This, in turn, can help make it easier for the central bank to achieve its inflation targets. Blackrock analysts wrote in a note Thursday that “we think we are going to be living with inflation. Watson was accused in a federal indictment of having “engaged in a scheme to defraud OZY’s investors, potential investors, potential acquirers, lenders and potential lenders.”The charges said that Watson committed the fraud “through material misrepresentations and omissions” about Ozy Media, including the company’s finances, investors, business partners, contracts, and potential acquisitions.

☆ Intuit Names Next CFO Following Michelle Clatterbuck’s Planned Departure
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Denny Jacob | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Intuit Inc. on Thursday named Sandeep Singh Aujla as its next chief financial officer following Michelle Clatterbuck’s pending departure. The tax preparation software maker said Mr. Aujla, currently senior vice president of finance of its small business and self-employed group as well as its technology organization, will take over as CFO effective Aug. 1. Ms. Clatterbuck, who has served as CFO since February 2018, plans to step down on July 31. Write to Denny Jacob at denny.jacob@wsj.comCopyright ©2022 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8

☆ Domino's stock tumbles 10% as delivery problems persist
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Danielle Wiener-Bronner | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

“We experienced significant pressure on our U.S. delivery business in 2022,” CEO Russell Weiner wrote in a statement discussing financial results Thursday. Domino's said its delivery business struggled last year. “Every day, delivery customers will be deciding where to spend their hard-earned dollars. And it raised the price of its “mix and match” deal for delivery orders, but not carryout. And while staffing has improved somewhat, “there is more work to do on staffing that part of the business,” Weiner said of delivery.

☆ Gold giant Newmont’s $16.9 billion bid for Australia’s Newcrest clouded by deal doubts
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

The Australian gold miner said that it was considering the all-share proposal in a filing that was a response to media speculation over the weekend. The initial feedback from shareholders is that they want a higher price, according to a person familiar with Newcrest’s deliberations. Newcrest shareholders would receive 0.380 Newmont shares for every Newcrest share, giving them a 30% stake in the enlarged miner. It is a 4.7% improvement from a previous 0.363 per share offer that Newcrest already rejected for not providing enough value to shareholders, Newcrest disclosed on Monday. Morgan Stanley is looking towards a bull case of spot gold reaching $2,160 in the fourth quarter, up from $1,866 an ounce.

MELBOURNE, Feb 6 (Reuters) - Global gold miner Newmont Corporation (NEM.N) has made an indicative $16.9 billion takeover offer for Australia's No. 1 goldminer Newcrest Mining Ltd. (NCM.AX), Newcrest said on Monday in a deal that would leverage both miners' operations in Australia and Canada. The offer price implies a premium of about 21% to Newcrest's last closing value of A$22.450, where Newcrest shareholders will receive 0.380 Newmont shares per every Newcrest share. "The Newcrest board, together with its financial and legal advisers, is considering the indicative proposal," the Australian gold miner said. The offer follows a rejected stock bid of 0.363 Newmont share per every Newcrest share, which the Australian gold miner consider "would not deliver sufficiently compelling value to Newcrest shareholders and on that basis".

☆ India's sunoil imports rise to record as Russia-Ukraine fight for market share
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( Rajendra Jadhav | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MUMBAI, Jan 27 (Reuters) - India's January sunflower oil imports are set to surge to a record 473,000 tonnes, nearly triple average monthly imports as top exporters Russia and Ukraine seek to reduce stockpiles, industry officials told Reuters. The import surge will help key Black Sea producing countries in reducing their stocks, but could dampen India's palm oil imports and weigh on Malaysian palm oil prices . The deal allowed exporters to move stuck stockpiles and sign new contracts as well, said Sandeep Bajoria, president of the International Sunflower Oil Association. India's monthly sunoil imports averaged around 161,000 tonnes in 2021/22 marketing year ended on Oct. 31. "Sunflower imports would reduce palm oil purchases this quarter.

☆ India ICICI Bank’s profit jumps 34% in October-December
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MUMBAI, Jan 21(Reuters) - India's ICICI Bank (ICBK.NS) on Saturday reported a 34.2% increase in net profit for the October-December quarter, on the back of improved revenues and healthy loan growth. Net profit for the quarter was 83.12 billion Indian rupees ($1.03 billion) up from 61.94 billion rupees in the same quarter a year earlier. That was in line with analysts' forecast of 81.25 billion rupees, according to Refinitiv IBES data. Net interest income, the difference between interest earned and paid, rose 34.6% to 164.65 billion rupees from 122.36 billion rupees last year. However, provisions and contingencies increased to 22.57 billion rupees from 16.44 billion rupees in the September quarter.

☆ Guitar Center Details Cloud Move
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( Belle Lin | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +4 min

Guitar Center Chief Technology Officer Ravi Balwada Photo: Guitar Center Inc. Such downtimes can result in losses of more than $5 million for retailers like Guitar Center, Mr. Balwada said. Guitar Center had filed for bankruptcy in November 2020, citing Covid-19-related store closures and looming debt maturity, and emerged from bankruptcy in December of that year. Guitar Center has also reduced its cost per transaction by about 1.5% and increased its online shopping conversion rates by an estimated 1.6%, Mr. Balwada said. PREVIEWMr. Balwada said he aims to more fully integrate Guitar Center’s offerings so that customers are interacting with a single, common platform that is built on Oracle’s cloud.

Indonesia, producer of more than half of global palm oil supplies, also tightened trade rules this year, allowing exporters to ship just six times their domestic palm oil sales volume, less than a fourth-quarter 2022 ratio of eight times. "Indonesian palm oil export definitely will drop, as output will decline, domestic consumption will increase," Fadhil Hasan, an Indonesian Palm Oil Association (GAPKI) official, told Reuters. Indonesia produced 51.3 million tonnes of palm oil in 2022 and exported 33.7 million tonnes, GAPKI estimated. In 2023, palm oil output is expected at 50.82 million tonnes and exports at 26.42 million tonnes, it said. "But India's strong demand for palm oil will continue as it is still the cheapest edible oil."

☆ Exclusive: Nexus Venture eyes $700 million fund to bet on India, U.S. tech startups
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-04 | by ( M. Sriram | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

It would also expand the pool of funds available to startups, at a time when fundraising by Indian startups fell by a third last year to $24 billion, Venture Intelligence data showed. Founded in 2006, Nexus was one of the first Indian venture capital firms to invest in U.S. and India-based software startups. The new fund will be its seventh so far and take the firm's assets under management to more than $2 billion. The new fund has received a strong response from endowments, one of the sources said, without sharing names of any specific investors. Nexus was co-founded by Naren Gupta who ran a software company in the United States for 15 years before selling it to Intel.

☆ VCs say hybrid work, generative AI, and niche collaboration tools will be some of the top future-of-work trends that dominate 2023
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( Stephanie Palazzolo | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Insider talked to VCs about the rising trends they say will revolutionize the way we work and live. Insider spoke with 15 venture capitalists about the trends and verticals they think are most likely to revolutionize the way we work and live today. Therefore, startups that will thrive going forward are those that embrace a mix of in-person and remote work, known as hybrid work, Thacker and other VCs said. An increase in workers caregiving for aging or sick family members is also supported by flexible work, the CRV general partner Kristin Baker Spohn said. "A lot of employees, whether it's the Great Resignation or the pandemic, found themselves changing the way that they work."

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