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☆ Morgan Stanley's Q4 results show the Club holding is firing on all cylinders, as the stock soars
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( Zev Fima | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

Those deals — valued at roughly $13 billion and $7 billion, respectively — pushed Morgan Stanley further into the money management world. Expense efficiency ratio is a measure of efficiency that is calculated as total non-interest expenses divided by net revenue. Segment results Institutional securities net revenue of $4.8 billion for the fourth quarter missed analysts' forecasts of nearly $5.09 billion. Wealth management net revenue of $6.63 billion for the quarter exceeded Wall Street's expectations of $6.29 billion. Investment management net revenue of $1.46 billion for the quarter outpaced the $1.29 billion consensus estimate.

SAO PAULO, Jan 16 (Reuters) - Brazilian lenders BTG Pactual, Bradesco and Santander Brasil are among those most exposed to debt of Americanas SA (AMER3.SA), analysts' estimates showed on Monday, after the retailer obtained an injunction protecting it from creditors. Analysts at JPMorgan and Citi said in research notes that Banco Bradesco SA (BBDC4.SA) had the largest nominal exposure to the firm, while Banco BTG Pactual SA topped exposure as a proportion of loans. Considering JPMorgan's and Citi's estimates, BTG had a 1.9 billion-real exposure to Americanas, which was seen accounting for roughly 1.5% of its loans, while Bradesco had exposure of 4.7 billion reais, or 0.5% of loans. Banco Santander Brasil SA , the local unit of Spain's Banco Santander (SAN.MC), had 3.7 billion reais in exposure, or about 0.6% of loans. Sergio Rial, the outgoing Americanas chief executive who uncovered the accounting inconsistencies, is a former head of Santander Brasil, where he still serves as chairman of the board.

☆ Creator merch company Spring has laid off staffers and closed its Kentucky production facility
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( Amanda Perelli | Sydney Bradley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Spring recently laid off staffers and closed its Kentucky production facility. Software company Amaze announced in November that it had acquired the merch company, formerly known as Teespring. Around late October, Spring assured staff that the merger with Amaze wouldn't result in warehouse staffers losing their jobs, two former staffers said. At the beginning of December, the warehouse staffers lost their benefits, two former staffers said. At the time, several former staffers were already speculating that Spring would make an attempt to sell the Kentucky facility.

☆ Minority shareholders denounce Brazil's Americanas for 'multi-billion fraud'
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( Rodrigo Viga Gaier | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

RIO DE JANEIRO/SAO PAULO, Jan 13 (Reuters) - A group representing minority shareholders on Friday filed a complaint with Brazil's securities regulator against Americanas SA (AMER3.SA) after the retailer uncovered "accounting inconsistencies" totaling 20 billion reais ($3.89 billion). The Abradin association said it was denouncing Americanas for what it called a "multi-billion fraud," while also asking regulator CVM to investigate the retailer's auditor, PwC. Shares in Americanas plummeted more than 75% on Thursday, wiping out 8.4 billion reais in market value, after the company's chief executive Sergio Rial resigned, citing the discovery of inconsistencies. It's not easy to hide 20 billion reais," said Eric Barreto, a professor at Sao Paulo's Insper. Americanas has long been controlled by three Brazilian billionaires who founded 3G Capital.

☆ The Davos elite likes to make bold predictions. But they don't always get them right
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( Silvia Amaro | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

George Soros, billionaire and founder of Soros Fund Management, at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, in Jan. 2016. It's an annual meeting where a global elite of business leaders, politicians and economists make bold predictions and try to set the agenda for the year ahead — but they don't always get it right. Nuclear warBillionaire investor George Soros warned during a speech at Davos in 2018 that the United States could be heading for a nuclear war with North Korea. "The United States is set on a course towards nuclear war by refusing to accept that [North] Korea has become a nuclear power," he said at the time. So far, the United States has avoided any military conflict with North Korea.

Republican state lawmakers and members of Congress are attempting to stifle the growth of sustainable investing and to punish corporate efforts at climate-related financial risk management. This is a closely coordinated political effort driven by a network of dark money organizations fronting for climate denial groups and fossil fuel interests. This is usually anonymous dark money, and it is often traceable back to the fossil fuel industry. They are attempting to bully financial institutions and regulators into ignoring market demand and market risk. Imagine elected officials telling investment firms they cannot offer large-cap or small-cap funds, or emerging market funds, or value funds — or, for that matter, sector funds with exposure to energy companies.

SAO PAULO/MEXICO CITY, Jan 11 (Reuters) - Brazilian retailer Americanas SA (AMER3.SA) said on Wednesday its chief executive and chief financial officer resigned after the discovery of around 20 billion reais ($3.88 billion) in accounting "inconsistencies." Lojas Americanas CEO Sergio Rial departed less than two weeks after taking the job, when he replaced Miguel Gutierrez. Joao Guerra, a long-time Americanas executive not involved with accounting or financial management, will take over as CEO on an interim basis. The amount of accounting inconsistencies is larger than the company´s net equity, 15 billion reais, said Fabrício Gonçalvez, CEO at Box Asset Management. The amount is also almost twice Americanas' 10.7 billion reais market capitalization, according to Refinitiv data.

☆ CNBC Pro Talks: Portfolio manager Trent Masters on how to beat the market
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Stock markets around the world had a horrible 2022, but veteran fund manager Trent Masters sees a brighter side to last year's market turmoil. "I'm quite encouraged by what has happened over 2022 because I think markets have become fundamentally disconnected from the underlying drivers. And so, I think what we are seeing now, particularly across tech, is a very healthy focus on profitability," Masters, portfolio manager at Alphinity Investment Management, said in the latest installment of CNBC Pro Talks. The cybersecurity sector outperformed the broader tech sector last year, and Masters remains bullish on its longer-term prospects. On the beaten-down semiconductor sector, Masters still sees opportunities in the space, naming one company with exposure to the electric vehicle transition and another that is "absolutely unique" in what it does.

SAO PAULO, Jan 12 (Reuters) - Shares in Brazilian retailer Americanas SA (AMER3.SA) fell more than 75% on Thursday after its chief executive officer resigned citing the discovery of "accounting inconsistencies" totaling 20 billion reais ($3.9 billion). Rial attributed the inconsistencies to differences in accounting for the financial cost of bank loans and debt with suppliers. The outgoing CEO said Americanas would likely need a capital increase, though noted he didn't expect a short-term impact from the inconsistencies on its cash position. Analysts at Santander and JPMorgan, who rated Americanas "Neutral" and "Underweight" respectively, also forecast a major negative reaction to the news. PwC, Americanas' auditor, declined to comment on the accounting inconsistencies referred to by Rial.

That abrupt U-turn unleashed COVID on a 1.4 billion population which has been shielded from the virus since it first erupted in China's Wuhan city in 2019. The outbreak is now overwhelming hospitals and crematoriums as it rips through the population, where many elderly are still not fully vaccinated. "This is a very pertinent suggestion, return to the home town...or put the health of the elderly first," wrote one user. The country did not report COVID fatalities data on Tuesday and Wednesday. But concerns about China's outbreak has prompted more than a dozen countries to demand negative COVID test results from people arriving from China.

☆ Alcoa Appoints New CFO Amid Executive Reshuffle
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( Jennifer Williams-Alvarez | Colin Kellaher | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +4 min

Alcoa Corp. named a new finance chief amid a wider executive reshuffle as the aluminum producer faces soaring energy costs and volatile prices. Ms. Beerman succeeds current CFO William Oplinger, who will become chief operations officer next month after about six years in the top finance role. In addition, two executive vice presidents—Chief Operations Officer John Slaven and Chief Innovation Officer Benjamin Kahrs —are leaving as part of the restructuring, Alcoa said. It will “ensure continued improvement and focus on Alcoa’s strategies to operate as a low-cost, margin-focused, sustainable producer,” Chief Executive Roy Harvey said in a statement. Newsletter Sign-up WSJ | CFO Journal The Morning Ledger provides daily news and insights on corporate finance from the CFO Journal team.

☆ Venom, Iceberg set up $1 bln fund to invest in blockchain firms amid crypto winter
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Jan 11 (Reuters) - Blockchain firm Venom Foundation and Abu Dhabi-based investment manager Iceberg Capital Ltd on Wednesday launched a $1 billion crypto venture fund and said it was leading a $20 million funding round in virtual world platform Nümi Metaverse. The fund, called Venom Ventures Fund (VVF), aims to invest in early-stage startups focused on payments, asset management, banking services and gaming on Web3, a much-hyped vision of a future internet built on blockchain. The launch comes at a time when funding for crypto startups has slowed following the global risk off mood and a series of crypto blowups that culminated in the high-profile downfall of FTX and shook investor sentiment. Cryptocurrencies have crept into the new year, licking their wounds with bitcoin steady at $17,421, after tumbling 64% in 2022. Venom Ventures fund is chaired by former BlackRock chief investment officer Peter Knez, and will be operated by investment firm Iceberg Capital that is regulated by Abu Dhabi Global Market - the emirate's international financial center.

Anderson Torres, Bolsonaro's justice minister from 2021 to 2022, took a job as Brasilia security chief after leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva took office on Jan. 1. "This was a structured sabotage operation, commanded by Bolsonaro's ex-minister Anderson Torres," Ricardo Cappelli, the official leading a post-invasion federal intervention into Brasilia's public security, told CNN Brasil. "Torres took over as secretary for security (in Brasilia), dismissed the whole chain of command and then took a trip. The shakeup of capital security highlights a wider challenge facing Lula, whose new government must now deal with a sweeping criminal investigation of the Brasilia riots while establishing a fresh chain of command among police and security forces. For example, the appointment of Torres, 47, at the Justice Ministry followed years of friendly relations with Bolsonaro's family.

"We had such a hard time, and I would rather have more Chinese people come than the government restricting their entry so I can do business." "Tour bus operators who have had their vehicles idly parked for over three years are now gearing up for (bus) inspections," said Thai Tour Bus Association President Wasuchet Sophonsatien. Thailand, Japan, the United States, South Korea, Australia, Macao, Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan were the most-searched destinations. Yue Hua Entertainment Korea, which manages Tempest, did not respond to a request for comment. "The pandemic outbreak on the mainland is still vigorous and needs time to recover, while domestic consumption remains weak on the mainland."

☆ Here's an exclusive look at the pitch deck 2 environmental engineers and a crypto enthusiast used to raise $4.1 million for their Web3 carbon-credit startup
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( April Joyner | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Open Forest Protocol, a Web3 climate-tech startup, has raised $4.1 million in pre-seed funding. An environmental engineer by trade, he launched a nonprofit devoted to helping reforestation projects find funding. Open Forest ProtocolFournier, Open Forest Protocol's CEO, cofounded the startup with Aureline Grange, a fellow environmental engineer at his nonprofit, and Michael Kelly, an early contributor to the Near blockchain. But on Open Forest Protocol, they can do so at no upfront cost. Here's an exclusive look at a version of the pitch deck Open Forest Protocol used to raise $4.1 million:

☆ Pitch Decks That Advertising Tech Startups Used to Raise Millions
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( Business Insider | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +19 min

Check out these pitch decks that they've used to sell their vision and raise millions from private equity and VC investors. Blocking ad fraudAdtech startup Lunio, announced a $15 million Series A funding round in September 2022. In May 2022, the software-as-a-service startup raised a $30 million Series B round, led by Insight Partners. Marketing in the metaverseAnima, an augmented-reality startup, raised a $3 million funding round from investors in Janury. He raised $50 million in Series D after closing a $34 million Series C last year, bringing its total raised to $100 million.

Parafin, launched in 2020, works with so-called platform partners, or companies that other small businesses sell their products through. All the cofounders knew was that they wanted to build technology that would help small businesses. And they may not get their first contract payment from the government for as long as 120 days," Reed, the startup's CEO, told Insider. Helping small businesses manage their taxesComplYant's founder Shiloh Jackson wants to help people be present in their bookkeeping. HoneyBookWhile countless small businesses have been harmed by the pandemic, self-employment and entrepreneurship have found ways to blossom as Americans started new ventures.

☆ G Squared's Victoria Greene says she's adding capital to her portfolio
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | 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 EmailG Squared's Victoria Greene says she's adding capital to her portfolioNewEdge's Cameron Dawson, G-Squared’s Victoria Greene and SVB Private’s Shannon Saccocia, join 'Closing Bell: Overtime' to discuss the Fed's hawkish comments and market reaction.

[1/5] Passengers push their luggage through the international arrivals hall at Beijing Capital International Airport after China lifted the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) quarantine requirement for inbound travellers in Beijing, China January 8, 2023. China's management of COVID was technically downgraded to "Category B" on Sunday, although many curbs have been dropped for weeks. Officially, China has reported just 5,272 COVID-related deaths as of Jan.8, one of the lowest rates of death from the infection in the world. State broadcaster CCTV reported on Sunday that direct flights from South Korea to China were close to sold out. South Korea like many other countries now requires travellers from China, Macau and Hong Kong to provide negative COVID test results before departure.

☆ China reopens borders in final farewell to zero-Covid policy
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-08 | by ( ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

Travelers began streaming into mainland China by air, land and sea on Sunday, many eager for long-awaited reunions, as Beijing opened borders that have been all but shut since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. But the abrupt policy reversal has triggered a massive wave of infections that is overwhelming some hospitals and causing business disruptions. China on Sunday also resumed issuing passports and travel visas for mainland residents, and ordinary visas and residence permits for foreigners. Beijing has quotas on the number of people who can travel between Hong Kong and China each day. I’m thrilled, I can’t believe it’s happening,” said a business woman surnamed Shen, 55, who flew in from Hong Kong.

Long queues formed at the Hong Kong international airport's check-in counters for flights to mainland cities including Beijing, Tianjin and Xiamen. Hong Kong media outlets estimated that thousands were crossing. Beijing has quotas on the number of people who can travel between Hong Kong and China each day. I'm thrilled, I can't believe it’s happening,” said a businesswoman surnamed Shen, 55, who flew in from Hong Kong. The World Health Organisation said on Wednesday that China's COVID data underrepresents the number of hospitalisations and deaths from the disease.

☆ India set to post BoP deficit for 2 straight years - StanChart
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MUMBAI, Jan 6 (Reuters) - India is set to post a balance of payment deficit for the second straight year in the next fiscal, which would be the first such instance in two decades, Standard Chartered Bank said on Friday. The foreign bank expects the country to record a BoP deficit of $24 billion this fiscal year and $5.5 billion in the next, against a surplus of $47.5 billion last year. "While the C/A deficit may appear more manageable, it still represents a large financing requirement in absolute terms, especially given the weak global growth backdrop. Our forecast of a smaller C/A deficit/GDP ratio in FY24 assumes a narrower trade deficit, but slower software and remittance inflows contributing to a large deficit size," the foreign bank said. Reporting by Dharamraj Lalit Dhutia; Editing by Dhanya Ann ThoppilOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Although international travel may not return immediately to pre-pandemic levels, companies, industries and countries that rely on Chinese tourists will get a boost in 2023, according to analysts. Elsewhere in the world, Cambodia, Mauritius, Malaysia, Taiwan, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, South Korea and Philippines are also likely to benefit from the return of Chinese tourists, according to research by Capital Economics. Saxon said he expected China’s outbound international travel to fully recover by the year end. “Generally, individuals are pragmatic and countries will welcome Chinese tourists due to their spending power,” he said, adding that countries may remove restrictions quickly when the Covid situation improves in China. “It will take time for international tourism to get going, but it will come rushing back, when it happens.”

Annual travel credit can effectively shave $300 off the annual fee if you use it Check mark icon A check mark. Very high annual fee Highlights Chevron icon It indicates an expandable section or menu, or sometimes previous / next navigation options. Annual companion certificate can help you recoup most, if not all, of the annual fee Check mark icon A check mark. $325 annual travel and dining credit can offset most of the $400 annual fee Check mark icon A check mark. Statement credits can help you recoup the annual fee Check mark icon A check mark.

Note that credit card lenders may use many different variations of credit score models when considering your application. Read our review Read Our Review A looong arrow, pointing rightThe best credit cards for adding authorized users reviewsBest overall: Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit CardCost to add an authorized user: $0 for up to four authorized users. Authorized users aren't the main account holder; instead, they're using a credit card that's tied to the main account. Credit history isn't a factor in adding an authorized userFor people who are building or rebuilding credit, getting approved for a premium credit card usually isn't a possibility in the short term. Some banks will even allow you to add an authorized user under 18 to your account — read our guide to adding children as credit card authorized users for all the details.

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