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☆ Sequoia bolsters London office with sixth partner hire as VC firm unveils radical restructure
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-06 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Venture capital firm Sequoia has hired a sixth partner for its London office, Insider understands. Venture capital firm Sequoia has bolstered its presence in Europe with the hire of its sixth partner in London, Insider understands. "Since Julien joined us as an associate five years ago, he's become a valued member of our London team," Accel partner Sonali De Rycker said. Sequoia will expand in Europe despite a broader contraction in venture capital funding to European startups. Sequoia has closed 21 deals in Europe in the three years since it opened in London, Crunchbase data shows.

Persons: Julien Bek, Accel's Luciana Lixandru, Sequoia's Lixandru, Bek, Julien, he's, Sonali De Rycker, Slay, Matt Miller, George Robson, Anas Organizations: Sequoia, . Venture, Apple, Accel, London, Investment, Investments, Trade Republic, Global Founders Capital, Revolut Locations: Sequoia, Europe, London, California, China, India, Southeast Asia, Geneva, Switzerland, Lixandru

☆ US seeks to curb investment in Chinese chips, AI and quantum computing
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( Karen Freifeld | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, May 31 (Reuters) - New rules under consideration would restrict the flow of U.S. investments and know-how into Chinese companies working on advanced semiconductors, artificial intelligence and quantum computing, a U.S. Treasury official said on Wednesday. Reuters reported in February that the Biden administration plans to ban investments in some Chinese technology companies and increase scrutiny of others, three sources said, as part of its plan to crack down on the billions that American firms have poured into sensitive Chinese sectors. China hawks in Washington blame U.S. investors for transferring capital and valuable know-how to Chinese tech companies that could help advance Beijing's military. Separately, Republican Senator Bill Hagerty asked about efforts to restrict the supply of U.S. origin goods to Chinese telecommunications company Huawei. Reporting by David Shepardson and Daphne Psaledakis in Washington, and Karen Freifeld in New York; Writing by Chris Sanders; Editing by Daniel WallisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Paul Rosen, Biden, Bill Hagerty, Thea Rozman Kendler, Kendler, David Shepardson, Daphne Psaledakis, Karen Freifeld, Chris Sanders, Daniel Wallis Organizations: Treasury, Reuters, Republican, Huawei, Exports, Commerce, Thomson Locations: U.S, China, Washington, New York

☆ EV maker Lucid to raise about $3 billion from Saudi's PIF, others
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

PIF, which owns more than 60% of the company, has agreed to buy 265.7 million shares in a private placement for about $1.8 billion, Lucid said in a statement. The rest will be raised from a public offering of 173.5 million shares of common stock. The private placement implies a price of about $6.80 per Lucid share, compared with the stock's Wednesday close of $7.76. Lucid's cash and cash equivalents had dropped to $900 million at the end of the first quarter, from $1.74 billion in the previous quarter. Bank of America Corp (BAC.N) is acting as the book-running manager for the public offering and Lucid intends to use the net proceeds from both the public offering and the private placement for general corporate purposes.

Persons: Lucid, Sherry House, Kanjyik Ghosh, Akriti Sharma, Devika Organizations: Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, Bloomberg News, Bank of America Corp, Thomson Locations: Saudi, Bengaluru

☆ US clamps down on sensitive export requests to China
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-30 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Nearly 700 Chinese parties are subject to the government's export controls on what is known as the "Entity List," Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Export Enforcement Matthew Axelrod said in written testimony. The goal is to counter China's "military modernization, human rights abuses, and other activities contrary to our national security and foreign policy interests," he said. The hearing is titled "Countering China: Advancing U.S. National Security, Economic Security, and Foreign Policy". The administration's plans to restrict certain U.S. outbound investments in specific sensitive technologies are still under discussion, said testimony from Treasury Department official Paul Rosen. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said in March the Biden administration was considering a pilot program to address risks about investment in China.

Persons: Beijing's, Thea Rozman Kendler, Export Enforcement Matthew Axelrod, Biden, Paul Rosen, Gina Raimondo, Raimondo, David Shepardson, Karen Freifeld, Chris Reese, Sonali Paul Organizations: U.S, Commerce, Export Enforcement, . National Security, Economic Security, Treasury Department, Thomson Locations: China

☆ US 'won't tolerate' China's ban on Micron chips, commerce secretary says
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-28 | by ( David Lawder | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

DETROIT, May 27 (Reuters) - The United States "won't tolerate" China's effective ban on purchases of Micron Technology (MU.O) memory chips and is working closely with allies to address such "economic coercion," U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said on Saturday. These "target a single U.S. company without any basis in fact, and we see it as plain and simple economic coercion and we won't tolerate it, nor do we think it will be successful." Raimondo also raised the Micron issue in a meeting on Thursday with China's Commerce Minister, Wang Wentao. "The investments in the CHIPS Act are to strengthen and bolster our domestic production of semiconductors. Having said that, we welcome participation from companies that are in IPEF countries, you know, so we expect that companies from Japan, Korea, Singapore, etc, will participate in the CHIPS Act funding," Raimondo said.

☆ A.I. arms race heats up: Tech giants compete for leadership
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

In this videoShare Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailA.I. arms race heats up: Tech giants compete for leadershipJosh Brown, Stephanie Link, and Jim Lebenthal join 'Halftime Report' to discuss the influence of A.I. on forward P/E numbers, Microsoft ramping up its A.I. investments, and hardware competition for A.I.

For PIF, the Lucid (LCID.O) bet is proving challenging. "The EV manufacturing plan is still one of the boldest parts of the Saudi plan," said Justin Alexander, director at Khalij Economics and Gulf analyst at GlobalSource Partners. Its investment was worth about $17.4 billion in mid-2022, the wealth fund's bond prospectus showed, and around $26 billion when Lucid was listed in 2021. The Saudi government has agreed with Lucid to buy up to 100,00 of its vehicles over the next decade. "Rather than fixing on short term results, the future of PIF's stake in Lucid will be dependent on the plans to build a Lucid factory in Saudi, on taking Lucid private again and/or on the potential integration with Ceer," said Global SWF Managing Director Diego Lopez of plans for a new Saudi EV maker.

☆ IBM increasing A.I. investments with 'watsonx'
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

In this videoShare Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailIBM increasing A.I. investments with 'watsonx'Herb Greenberg, Empire Financial senior editor, joins 'Last Call' to discuss IBM's latest moves into A.I. and what it means for its competitors.

☆ CEO of fitness band maker Whoop mocks the demise of Amazon's Halo health device
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Annie Palmer | In Annierpalmer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

The CEO of Whoop, a fitness band favored by athletes, is claiming victory over Amazon after the e-retailer pulled the plug on its line of Halo devices. Amazon said last week it will discontinue its Halo health and fitness devices, and shut down the Halo program, resulting in some employees being let go. Whoop CEO Will Ahmed said he views the demise of Halo as a win for his startup. He claimed the Halo wristband, which tracks users' physical activity, sleep and mood, was a knockoff of Whoop's own device. Whoop launched its first product, the Whoop 1.0, in 2015.

☆ I asked 8 CNBC employees what they wish they'd known about money when they were young: Here are their answers
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-22 | by ( Emmie Martin | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

In particular, I wish I knew about Roth individual retirement accounts when I was in high school. Even though they're for retirement savings, anyone with earned income can contribute to one, within certain income limits, and let their money grow tax-free. In the spirit of Financial Literacy Month, I asked my coworkers what they wish they knew about money when they were younger. Credit card debt adds up quicklyIn my 20s, I didn't think much about the interest I was paying on credit card debt, and it probably cost me thousands of dollars. —Mike Winters, money reporterBut credit can be a useful toolI wish I know more about credit in college and my early 20s.

☆ With a recession looming, it's an important time to have an emergency savings account, finance expert Suze Orman says
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Lorie Konish | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

watch now"There has never been a time that as much as right here and right now in the recent past that an emergency savings account is vital, absolutely vital," Orman said. In 2020, she co-founded SecureSave, a company working with employers to provide emergency savings accounts to employees. "If you go back through my entire history of almost 40 years now, I've been [saying] emergency savings, emergency savings, emergency savings," Orman said. How your emergency fund deposits are insuredAn important part of emergency savings is easy access, which means most people are looking at some kind of high-yield savings account. Generally, deposit accounts are eligible for $250,000 coverage for the sum of accounts at an institution in this category, which includes checking accounts, savings accounts, certificates of deposit or money market deposit accounts.

☆ JPMorgan, Goldman plan to start trading private credit loans - Bloomberg News
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

March 29 (Reuters) - Wall Street banks including JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N) and Goldman Sachs Group Inc (GS.N) are looking to start trading private credit loans, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter. The banks are among the firms talking to private debt funds about facilitating secondary-market transactions, according to the report. JPMorgan declined to comment, while Goldman did not immediately respond to a Reuters' request for comment. Private credit is financing provided by a lender other than a bank, such as an investment fund. Reporting by Mehnaz Yasmin in BengaluruOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Things are pretty grim in real estate, but that could be a good thing for proptech startups in the long run
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-24 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Today, we've got stories on Deutsche Bank's tumbling shares, some bad news for Block, and why Gen Z might be in trouble. Of the many casualties of 2022, startups focusing on the real-estate market were some of the biggest. As the real-estate market dried up, thanks to rising interest rates, these companies that were meant to upend the industry through tech and innovation suddenly took a backseat. And while current conditions aren't ideal for proptech startups, that could actually benefit them in the long run. Click here to check out 26 of the hottest proptech startups set to take off in 2023.

☆ Premarket stocks: Americans are going all-in on cash. That could spell more trouble
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-24 | by ( Nicole Goodkind | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

The goal of a money market fund is to provide investors with a relatively stable investment option that offers higher returns than traditional savings. What’s happening: Since the Fed began to raise interest rates a year ago, the amount of money in money market funds has increased by roughly $400 billion. Goldman Sachs economists wrote in a note on Thursday that Americans could sell as much as $1.1 trillion in stocks this year and put that money into credit and money market assets instead. Money market funds are deeply interconnected with the wider financial system, and often face the same risks as banks. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, a US government agency that insures deposits in banks and savings associations, does not insure cash invested in money market funds.

☆ Microsoft is using OpenAI to make it easier for doctors to take notes
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( Ashley Capoot | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Microsoft 's speech recognition subsidiary Nuance Communications on Monday announced Dragon Ambient eXperience (DAX) Express, a clinical notes application for health-care workers powered by artificial intelligence. DAX converts verbal patient visits into clinical notes, and it sends them through a human review process to ensure they are accurate and high-quality. DAX Express, in contrast, generates clinical notes within seconds so that physicians can review automated summaries of their patient visits immediately. Alysa Taylor, a corporate vice president in the Azure group at Microsoft, told CNBC that DAX Express adheres to the core principles of Microsoft's responsible A.I. She said, ultimately, using DAX Express will help improve both the patient experience and the physician experience.

Real estate crowdfundingReal estate crowdfunding is a strategy that allows enterprises to raise capital from large groups of individuals. Real estate investment trusts (REITs)If you want to wade into real estate, investing in a real estate investment trust (REIT) will provide exposure to the market without the time and cost commitment of buying your own property. Invest in your own homeFinally, if you want to invest in real estate, look closer to home — your own home. Strategies for successful real estate investingWhatever form your real estate investment takes, certain strategies will stand you in good stead. Pure investment plays — which don't involve hands-on management from you — include real estate crowdfunding, investing in real estate limited partnerships, and buying into real estate investment trusts.

☆ Three under-the-radar ways to play the global electric vehicle boom from Jefferies
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Sarah Min | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

There's more than one way to tap into the global electric vehicle boom. In fact, Jefferies has three under-the-radar plays that include a welding equipment maker. LECO YTD mountain Lincoln Electric shares YTD For Lincoln Electric, the surge in electric vehicle interest will boost its automotive and transport business, which makes up 17% of its sales, according to Jefferies. Lincoln Electric is a maker of welding equipment and products, but last year it also launched an initiative to design and manufacture EV chargers for the domestic market. Meanwhile, chemicals firm Graco is also dealing with sealing and bonding applications for electric vehicle battery pack and module assembly.

☆ US prepares new rules on investment in technology abroad- WSJ
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The Biden administration's work on the new rules would in practice largely deal with U.S. investments in China though the report given to lawmakers did not identify any countries, the WSJ said. The new rules are expected to cover private-equity and venture-capital investments in advanced semiconductors, supercomputing and some forms of artificial intelligence, the WSJ reported quoting people familiar with the matter as saying. The Treasury and Commerce departments expected to finalize their policy in the near future, it added. Reuters reported last month that Biden administration was planning an outright ban on investments in some Chinese technology companies and increased scrutiny of others. Reporting by Jose Joseph and Anirudh Saligrama in Bengaluru; Editing by Himani Sarkar and Simon Cameron-MooreOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Generative AI boost for Nvidia NVDA 1Y mountain Nvidia (NVDA) 1-year performance Nvidia (NVDA) was the Club's biggest winner in January, climbing 33.7%, and in February its 18.8% monthly gain is second to only Bausch Health (BHC). The stock's exceptional performance this year goes much deeper to company-specific factors — specifically, all the buzz around generative artificial intelligence (AI). "AI adoption is at an inflection point," Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said on the chipmaker's earnings conference call last week. Bausch bounces, but questions remain BHC 1Y mountain Bausch Health (BHC) 1-year performance Bausch Health (BHC) has had an incredible start to the year, climbing roughly 21% in both January and February. Efficiency commitment lifts Meta META 1Y mountain Meta Platform (META) 1-year performance Meta Platforms (META) has really turned it around, gaining roughly 24% in January and over 17% in February.

☆ Jim Cramer says these three things can help you see through the market madness
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Rebecca Picciotto | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

CNBC's Jim Cramer on Tuesday said that in order to steer through today's economic volatility, investors need to pay attention to three central things that are artificially driving the market crazy. He pointed to health stocks that went up earlier Tuesday and then suddenly, for no visible reason, shot down. Instead of judging these companies based on their current health, Cramer said their stocks plunged "purely because they've been down. "I find this kind of action repugnant because it has nothing to do with what's really happening at individual companies," said Cramer. To make the market make sense, Cramer said we need the following:Fund managers who "know what they are doing."

☆ Blackstone says India top Asian market, eyes infra investments
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( M. Sriram | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

MUMBAI, Feb 14 (Reuters) - India will continue to be Blackstone Inc's (BX.N) biggest market in Asia and the private equity giant may consider infrastructure investments there in the future, a top company executive said on Tuesday. Blackstone said it manages assets worth $50 billion in India, including in private equity and real estate. Private equity deals in India totalled $32 billion last year, a 27% drop from 2021. Even as Blackstone remains bullish on India, Gray said more certainty around tax and capital market laws will help increase foreign investments in India. China's share in Asia's total private equity deal value dropped to 28% in 2022 from 41% in 2021, the data showed.

The ban is expected to apply to some investments tied to chip production, two of the sources said. China hawks in Washington blame American investors for transferring capital and valuable know-how to Chinese tech companies that could help advance Beijing's military capabilities. The White House declined to comment and the Chinese embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment. That could include the long-awaited outbound investment order. Efforts to incorporate an outbound investment screening plan in legislation failed last year in Congress.

[1/6] German Economy Minister Robert Habeck and French Minister for Economy, Finance, Industry and Digital Security Bruno Le Maire hold a joint news conference in Washington, U.S., February 7, 2023. "It's a process, and in a process you go step by step," Le Maire told reporters. After meetings with Yellen, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and White House officials, Habeck and Le Maire emerged with few specifics other than pledges to be clear about their competing green subsidies. Noting the agreement on both sides on the need for transparency on subsidies, Habeck said, "We will (create) a technical group to make this transparency work." But Commerce said she applauded the TTC's work to promote transparency for U.S. and EU semiconductor subsidies and support supply chains.

☆ Microsoft will need 'a crowbar to pry away' Google's advertising dominance, even with its A.I. investments
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Samantha Subin | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

But analysts aren't convinced that significant market share gains will come anytime soon. At the same time, he suspects the announcement will further push Google to roll out more of its own AI search engine features. To be sure, even though Microsoft accounts for just a fraction of the search advertising market, analysts see signs that the company is making significant progress. According to Piper Sandler's Brent Bracelin, Microsoft AI should reach $40 billion in revenue in half the time it took the company's cloud segment to reach that milestone. He also estimates that Microsoft could expand its market share within the digital ad market by as much as 7% sometime in 2026.

WASHINGTON, Feb 7 (Reuters) - France and Germany's economy ministers said they would push for the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act to embrace European companies as fully as possible as they headed into talks with their Washington counterparts on Tuesday. While Canadian and Mexican companies are eligible to benefit from many of its provisions, the act does not help European competitors. Le Maire and his German counterpart Robert Habeck, who are due to put their case to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, trade representative Katherine Tai and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, fear European companies could be disadvantaged. "A strong green industrial market in the U.S. and a strong green industrial market in Europe will help each other," Habeck told reporters from a noisy Washington street corner before they headed into their meetings. Le Maire said Europe needed transparency on the exact subsidies and tax credits that were on offer to ensure "fair competition" between industries on both sides of the Atlantic.

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