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☆ Billionaire investor Bill Ackman calls on the US government to consider a bailout of Silicon Valley Bank if private investors won't step up
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Ackman called on the government for a "highly dilutive" Silicon Valley Bank bailout if the private sector doesn't step up. SVB is a go-to bank and lender to startups in the tech sector and a crucial part of the ecosystem. Greg Becker, the CEO of Silicon Valley Bank, told clients to "stay calm" at a conference call on Thursday, Bloomberg reported, citing a person familiar with the matter. The events spurred concerns among tech VCs and founders about Silicon Valley Bank's financial stability. Silicon Valley Bank did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment sent outside regular business hours.

☆ European banking stocks sink as Silicon Valley Bank jitters spread
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( Elliot Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

European banking stocks sold off sharply in early trade Friday as jitters surrounding U.S. bank SVB Financial — which plunged 60% Thursday — spread around the world. It followed an announcement by the tech-focused lender of a capital raise to help offset bond sale losses. The Euro Stoxx Banks index was on pace for its worst day since June, led by a decline of more-than 8% for Deutsche Bank . Silicon Valley Bank caters heavily to startup firms, particularly venture-backed tech and life sciences companies in the U.S. "If private capital can't provide a solution, a highly dilutive gov't preferred bailout should be considered."

☆ Silicon Valley Bank crisis: Everything you need to know about SVB Financial as its share collapse rattles major stocks
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( George Glover | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

SVB Financial's share plunge is dragging on major bank stocks like JPMorgan and Bank of America. Here's everything you need to know about Silicon Valley Bank and its parent company SVB Financial. SVB is a Santa Clara-based bank that lends money to and takes deposits from Silicon Valley tech startups. Why has SVB's stock price crashed? "The failure of SVB Financial could destroy an important long-term driver of the economy as VC-backed companies rely on SVB for loans and holding their operating cash," he said on Twitter Thursday evening.

☆ Elon Musk presents Tesla 'Master Plan 3' with emphasis on sustainable energy
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Lora Kolodny | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Electric vehicle maker Tesla laid out its long-term vision at a 2023 Investor Day presentation in Austin, Texas, on Wednesday. CEO Elon Musk took the stage to share his "Master Plan 3," and to discuss how Tesla plans to scale up in the face of increasing competition. Musk said, "Earth can and will move to a sustainable energy economy, and will do so in your lifetime." To start, Musk was joined on stage by Senior Vice President of Powertrain and Energy Engineering at Tesla, Drew Baglino. Tesla shares have rebounded from declines during 2022, and are up more than 60% for the year so far.

☆ Benioff more than delivers with Salesforce's fourth-quarter beat and sky-high guidance
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Zev Fima | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Club holding Salesforce (CRM)'s fiscal fourth-quarter results crushed expectations across the board Wednesday, while its forward guidance made clear CEO Mark Benioff is uniquely positioned to deliver profitability at the enterprise software pioneer. Operating cash flow surged nearly 41% from the previous year, to $2.79 billion, beating estimates of $2.5 billion. Benioff said management is "reigniting [Salesforce's] performance culture" and doubling down on the accountable management of its sales organization, while reducing headcount and consolidating the company's real estate footprint. The company is trying to better integrate acquisitions and prioritizing those "core innovations that are driving customer success," Benioff said. As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade.

☆ Analysis: Bed Bath's novel deal is no universal dodge-bankruptcy card
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( Shankar Ramakrishnan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

It's unclear whether Bed Bath can capitalize on the breathing room to turn around its business, which has been battered by competition from other online and brick-and-mortar retailers. A spokesperson for Hudson's Bay declined to comment, while Bed Bath & Beyond did not respond to requests for comment. To secure the Hudson's Bay investment, Bed Bath offered a deal that guarantees the hedge fund a lucrative return in most circumstances. It is not clear how much of the stock Hudson's Bay has converted and sold since it inked the deal with Bed Bath on Feb. 6. The deal is very dilutive for other Bed Bath investors, who will end up owning 80% less if the company survives.

☆ Bed Bath & Beyond stock is headed to $0 as the struggling retailer works on a 'last gasp' effort to stave off bankruptcy, Wedbush says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( Carla Mozée | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Bed Bath & Beyond's price target was cut to $0 at Wedbush Securities on Tuesday. The struggling retailer is rushing to raise funds to avoid bankruptcy but it's facing a slate of high-execution risks. Bed Bath & Beyond's market capitalization was around $372 million as of Tuesday, far below its peak of $6.4 billion in January 2021. Bed Bath & Beyond, which missed a bond payment this month, said plans to close an additional 141 stores. Wedbush estimated that additional capital coming into Bed Bath & Beyond would provide it with "just a few more quarters" to turn around its operations.

☆ The economy, funding, and 3 other small-business challenges entrepreneurs will face in 2023, according to founders
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Jennifer Ortakales Dawkins | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Marketing and customer acquisitionBeatrice Dixon, a cofounder and the CEO of the Honey Pot Company. Beatrice DixonBeatrice Dixon, a cofounder and the CEO of the feminine-care brand Honey Pot Company"Continued market saturation. I think there will be dilutive market saturation, and the challenge then becomes the ability to actively communicate your 'why' through undeveloped tactics or channels." After IOS14 privacy updates, social ads do not work like they used to, so founders need to get creative in how they are acquiring new customers." Consumers can also agree that we don't need more content, ideas, or strategies.

☆ 'One of the most important earnings calls in its history': Here's what Wall Street expects from Tesla's 4th-quarter earnings
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Matthew Fox | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Tesla is set to report fourth-quarter earnings after the market close on Wednesday after a rocky 2022. Investors are laser-focused on the company's profit guidance after it announced big price cuts. Here's what Wall Street expects to see from the electric vehicle maker's earnings report. Detailed below is what three Wall Street analysts expect from Tesla's fourth-quarter earnings report. JPMorgan: Price cuts 'may lead to negative earnings revisions in coming quarters.'

☆ Qiagen acquires DNA-biometrics firm Verogen in $150 mln deal
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Jan 9 (Reuters) - Life sciences firm Qiagen said on Monday it has acquired DNA-biometrics firm Verogen in a $150-million cash deal, strengthening its forensics portfolio. Qiagen expects about $20 million of sales from the Verogen portfolio this year. The deal is expected to be dilutive to Qiagen's 2023 adjusted profit per share by about 3 cents and neutral to the firm's 2024 profit. San Diego-based Verogen, founded in 2017, provides DNA-based human identification products and services, which are used in forensic analysis and to help resolve criminal and missing persons cases. Verogen's portfolio will complement Qiagen's sample collection and preparation kits, which are used to separate human DNA from forensic investigation samples for analysis.

☆ Coinbase debtholders sweat as bonds trade near 50 cents on the dollar following FTX collapse
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-13 | by ( Ari Levy | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Monitors display Coinbase signage during the company's initial public offering (IPO) at the Nasdaq MarketSite in New York, U.S., on Wednesday, April 14, 2021. For over a month, Coinbase notes set to mature in 2031 have been trading around 50 cents on the dollar, down from about 92 cents at the beginning of the year. The first tranche of bonds — $1.4 billion in convertible notes — don't mature until June 2026. But the company is projected by analysts to run up a $2.6 billion loss this year and another deficit of $1.4 billion in 2023, according to Refinitiv estimates. "The company is in a strong liquidity position, but at the same time they have to deal with a changing operating environment."

☆ Bigtincan suitor SQN Investors unhappy with potential capital raising
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Dec 8 (Reuters) - Australia's Bigtincan Holdings Ltd (BTH.AX) said on Thursday top shareholder and suitor SQN Investors (SQN) had expressed its disagreement over a potential capital raising, calling it "highly dilutive" and "value-destructive". Last week, the software provider received a buyout bid from private equity adviser SQN, valuing it at A$441.9 million ($296.74 million). "We would urge you to instead honour your fiduciary obligations and engage with the various parties that have approached you about a control transaction, including SQN Investors." SQN, which holds a 13.6% stake in Bigtincan, also expressed concerns the potential capital raise "would imply a reliance on further acquisitions" to achieve fiscal 2023 annualised recurring revenue guidance of between A$137 million and A$143 million. In its response to the letter, Bigtincan confirmed its guidance and said it would make an announcement once the placement was completed.

☆ JPMorgan double downgrades Royal Caribbean Group, says it's 'more vulnerable' to macro pressures
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( Sarah Min | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Sell shares of Royal Caribbean Group as they could fall 20% from here, JPMorgan said Tuesday. Analyst Daniel Adam double downgraded shares to underweight from overweight, and slashed his price target, saying that Royal Caribbean is "more vulnerable" to macro pressures than its peers because of its future capital commitments. To be sure, Royal Caribbean has some advantages, including an 18% share of the cruise market that is expected to have a better setup heading into 2023. Shares of Royal Caribbean are down roughly 22% this year. The analyst's December 2023 price target of $47, cut from the December 2022 price target of $106, suggests roughly 20% downside from Monday's closing price.

☆ Anne Hathaway-backed VC firm Pact just closed the first tranche of its $36 million seed fund. Here's the 11-slide LP deck it used to raise the capital.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-24 | by ( Riddhi Kanetkar | Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A female-founded VC firm has closed the first tranche of its £30 million ($36 million) early-stage fund. Check out the 11-slide LP deck the London-based firm used to raise the fresh funds. While investments will span Europe, Pact will help its portfolio companies scale into regions underserved by traditional investors, Gu told Insider. Gu will support companies looking to enter Asia while Pham and Mobassaleh-Wyndham will focus on EMEA, and specifically Türkiye. It sees this as a pull for potential portfolio companies who can then take advantage of the network's expertise.

WASHINGTON — The conservative-majority Supreme Court left its imprint on the 2022 elections, galvanizing Democrats with decisions on guns and abortion and potentially aiding Republicans with election rulings. For decades, it was the Republican Party that benefited from conservative anger over the Supreme Court's original ruling in Roe v. Wade. Using the new map, Republicans won five of the six districts Tuesday. Under the newly drawn map, Republicans won 20 of 28 seats. The Supreme Court's 2019 ruling said partisan gerrymandering claims could not be adjudicated by federal courts.

☆ When he's not starring on Love is Blind, Berkeley Haas' Sikiru 'SK' Alagbada likes to invest in startups. Here's what he looks for.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-07 | by ( Madeline Renbarger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

"Love Is Blind" contestant Sikiru "SK" Alagbada got into UC Berkeley's MBA program in 2021. Alagbada worked as a data engineer and is now the co-chair of LAUNCH, the UC startup accelerator. "It's almost like a mini-YC," he said, referring to the famous Silicon Valley startup accelerator, Y Combinator. He looks for startups that have a clear "founder-market fit," whether it's in terms of technical expertise or a strong network, Alagbada told Insider. When it comes to his personal investing, Alagbada prioritizes startups based in Africa.

☆ Ericsson earnings miss estimates as costs dent margins
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

STOCKHOLM, Oct 20 (Reuters) - Swedish telecom equipment maker Ericsson (ERICb.ST) on Thursday reported third-quarter core earnings that missed expectations for the second quarter in a row, as margins took a hit from higher component and logistics costs. The company's quarterly adjusted operating earnings fell to 7.1 billion Swedish crowns ($633.05 million) from 8.8 billion crowns a year earlier, missing analysts' mean forecast of 8.73 billion, according to Refinitiv data. Ericsson's quarterly revenue, however, rose to 68 billion crowns from 56.3 billion a year earlier, beating analysts' average estimate of 66.25 billion. Footprint gains with large-scale projects in early stages tend to have a dilutive impact on gross margins, Chief Executive Borje Ekholm said in a statement. ($1 = 11.2155 Swedish crowns)Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Supantha Mukherjee in Stockholm; editing by Niklas PollardOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Bitcoin miners are feeling the heat as the network’s mining difficulty reaches an all-time high
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-17 | by ( Tanaya Macheel | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

If there's too much competition, that means the blocks are coming in too fast and the difficulty needs to go up, D.A. "An increasing network hashrate is good for the health of the [Bitcoin] network," Brendler told CNBC Pro. The problem for miners Miners have been feeling the heat since bitcoin fell below $20,000 and energy prices have increased. But between the hot Texas summer and the falling price of bitcoin, many miners have been forced to stop. In previous years, there's been a positive correlation between the bitcoin price and the Bitcoin hashrate, but in this new macro-led market, investors shouldn't place too much faith in that, Lau said.

☆ Here are all five parts of our series on how to analyze an earnings report
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-15 | by ( Jim Cramer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +85 min

Operating income Once we remove operating expenses from gross margin dollars , we are left with what is known as operating income. This is especially important from a cash flow perspective as many companies define free cash flow (a non-GAAP metric) as "operating cash flow less expenditures on property, plant and equipment." Part 3: Cash flow analysis The cash flow statement is the middle child in a financial report — it gets overlooked. Investors may look to use operating cash flow or free cash flow for this equation. AMC's cash flow Let's finish by taking a look at the cash flow statement.

☆ Credit Suisse capital gap conundrum draws analyst answers
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-14 | by ( Noele Illien | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The logo of Swiss bank Credit Suisse is seen at its headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland October 4, 2022. A spokesperson for Credit Suisse, which will unveil its strategic review alongside its results on Oct. 27, said it would be premature to comment on any outcome before then. Credit Suisse shares have plunged almost 50% since the start of the year, trimming its market value to 11.88 billion francs. Credit Suisse's five-year credit default swaps, a key risk benchmark, were indicated as high as 363 basis points on Wednesday, data from S&P Global Market Intelligence shows. "Credit Suisse is facing the biggest upheaval the bank has ever seen," Thomae from Deka Investment said.

☆ TripActions raises equity at $9.2 bln valuation, gets Coatue's structured financing
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-12 | by ( Krystal Hu | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Oct 12 (Reuters) - U.S. corporate travel and expense company TripActions said it raised $304 million from investors in equity and debt-like structured financing on Wednesday, as the company gears up for expansion and a public listing. The company said the funding includes $154 million in equity financing from investors including Andreessen Horowitz and Premji Invest, which valued the startup at $9.2 billion, up from its last round of $7.5 billion. The $150 million structured financing comes from Coatue Management’s new fund targeting late-stage startups as the IPO market remains shut. The company has filed confidentially for an initial public offering (IPO) that could land next year, sources told Reuters. “We are investing for the company to be ready to be a public company."

☆ How to analyze an earnings report — Part 5: A case study
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-11 | by ( Zev Fima | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +23 min

In this case study, we can apply some of what we covered in Part 1 : The income statement; Part 2 : The balance sheet; Part 3 : Cash flow analysis; and Part 4 : The ratios. At the time, he still had over 2.3 million shares, nearly all of which were unvested. AMC's cash flow Let's finish by taking a look at the cash flow statement. What we really want to focus on is operating cash flow (line three), followed by capital expenditures and then free cash flow. Even in the fourth quarter, it didn't generate enough cash flow to cover the investing and financing outflows, not to mention capital expenditures.

☆ Wedbush upgrades fuboTV to outperform citing 'compelling entry point' after stock pullback
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-23 | by ( Carmen Reinicke | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The firm upgraded shares of the streaming service to outperform from neutral and maintained its $6 price target. Shares of fuboTV have plunged nearly 75% year-to-date, which is part of the reason for Wedbush's upgrade. "We believe our $6 price target fully prices in that uncertainty, while shares have dropped well below this since our recent downgrade." Compelling entry He added that given the risk versus reward, the current share price offers a "compelling entry point," especially given fuboTV's business. "We now view this as a compelling entry point for those with an appetite for some downside risk," he said.

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