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☆ China Renaissance CEO Bao Fan goes missing
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( Michelle Toh | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Hong Kong CNN —One of China’s top investment bankers has become unreachable, according to his company. China Renaissance, an investment bank and private equity firm based in Beijing, said in a Thursday filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange that it “has been unable to contact” Bao Fan, its chairman and CEO. Shares of the company plunged as much as 50% in Hong Kong on Friday following the news. Bao did not immediately respond to messages from CNN on WeChat on Friday, while China Renaissance hasn’t yet responded to a request for comment. Chinese authorities detained Cong Lin, the company’s president, in September, it reported, citing unidentified sources.

SYDNEY, Feb 17 (Reuters) - Shares of boutique investment bank China Renaissance Holdings Ltd (1911.HK) fell by as much as 50% on Friday after the firm said it had been unable to contact Chairman and Chief Executive Bao Fan. China Renaissance shares slid by 50% in early trade to hit a record low of HK$5 each. He started China Renaissance in 2005 and the exchange filing showed he is its controlling shareholder. China Renaissance was listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 2018 after it raised $346 million. China Renaissance is also an active investor in the tech sector.

☆ Barclays replaces co-heads of equities business
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, Feb 6 (Reuters) - Barclays' (BARC.L) co-heads of equities, Todd Sandoz and Paul Leech, have stepped down from their roles and left the bank, a company spokesperson said on Monday, as the British bank continues a reshuffle of its investment bank's management. Stephen Dainton, who has run the business in the past, has taken over as interim global head of equities, the spokesperson said, in addition to keeping his current role as co-head of global markets. The bank now needs a single leader for the business to keep growing market share and returns, the memo said. Barclays is conducting a search for a permanent leader for the equities business, it added. The move is the latest in a series of changes at the top of Barclays' investment bank, after it last month appointed former Credit Suisse dealmaker Cathal Deasy and Taylor Wright as co-heads of investment banking.

☆ Carlyle's new boss will be virtuoso second fiddle
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( Jonathan Guilford | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

That’s the best way of interpreting the private equity firm’s appointment of former Goldman Sachs (GS.N) banker Harvey Schwartz on Monday. He never quite made it to the CEO job at Goldman, though served in a number of high-level roles like chief financial officer and chief operating officer. They felt that the ousted Lee, who pushed hard to diversify Carlyle’s business, hadn’t adequately consulted them on big moves, according to Reuters. The firm’s co-founder Bill Conway, also one of Carlyle’s two co-chairmen, has been filling the role on an interim basis. Schwartz previously held various senior roles including chief financial officer and chief operating officer at investment bank Goldman Sachs, which he left in 2018.

☆ Exclusive: Credit Suisse markets CSFB as 'super boutique', sees revenue rebound
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( Paritosh Bansal | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Veteran dealmaker Michael Klein has stepped down from the Credit Suisse board to become CEO. Third-party capital would help fund the unit's lending as a standalone entity, Credit Suisse said, without providing additional details. At the same time, Credit Suisse would pull back from certain businesses, such as providing revolving credit lines to companies and non-essential trading. Bloomberg News reported last month that Credit Suisse was nearing a deal to buy the boutique for a few hundred million dollars. Longer term under its plan for CSFB, Credit Suisse projects net revenues could rise to as much as $3.5 billion.

☆ ChatGPT is supercharging how EQT sources deals. A top tech exec at the investing giant gives an inside look at how it's 'trying to make cyborgs' out of its dealmakers
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( Bianca Chan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

But at Sweden-based investment firm EQT, the tech is being used at full throttle. "We're trying to make cyborgs," Alexandra Lutz, head of Motherbrain, EQT's AI platform, told Insider. With ChatGPT, Lutz said EQT has reached "the next frontier," putting the power of AI directly in the hands of its investors and portfolio companies. EQT's AI journey has been seven years in the makingThe impetus for EQT's AI platform can be traced back to a simple question. The AI platform generates lists of companies for EQT investors that look promising based on an input of desired attributes, from company size to geography and underlying technology.

Biden noted that 2,200 trains ride through it daily, making it the busiest tunnel in the United States. "Folks talk about how badly the Baltimore tunnel needs an upgrade. Trains that travel through the tunnel now at 30 miles per hour will travel at 110 mph when renovations are through, Biden said. In Washington, Biden faces a colder reality as Republicans, now in control of the House of Representatives, threaten to block his economic agenda, bog down his programs in investigations and prevent the raising of the debt ceiling to force spending cuts. Biden plans a similar event on Tuesday in New York related to that city's Hudson Tunnel project.

☆ Biden to promote Baltimore spending as Republicans try to force cuts
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | by ( Trevor Hunnicutt | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

In Washington, Biden faces a colder reality as Republicans, now in control of the House of Representatives, threaten to block his economic agenda, bog down his programs in investigations and prevent the raising of the debt ceiling to force spending cuts. Monday's event takes Biden, a Democrat who touts his alliance with labor unions, to liberal Baltimore at an event expected to be attended by the state's governor and two senators, all Democrats. He is expected to announce an agreement between Amtrak and a labor group on the tunnel project, according to a White House official. Biden plans a similar event on Tuesday in New York related to that city's Hudson Tunnel project. On Friday, he will highlight the infrastructure bill's provisions replacing toxic lead pipes at an event in Philadelphia.

BANGKOK, Jan 27 (Reuters) - Thailand's ruling pro-military Palang Pracharat party has chosen political veteran and former army chief Prawit Wongsuwon as its prime minister candidate, a senior official said on Friday, as parties gear up for an election that must be held by May. "He is the centre of the party ... our members, parliamentarians all see him as talented and most suitable," Palang Pracharat's deputy leader Paiboon Nititawan said after a party meeting. Both are former army chiefs who often refer to each other as brothers, hailing from the elite Queen's Guard unit. In a Facebook post on Wednesday Prawit said "politicians must be able to work with all parties, compromise to reduce conflict and adhere to the public interest." A "divide and conquer" strategy might work, he added, with Prawit's party able to win votes in areas where Prayuth may not be popular.

☆ Morning bid: Running out of breath
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Asian equities held steady on Wednesday near seven-month highs after a mixed session on Wall Street. On a thin day for economic data, focus will be on U.K. producer prices and the German IFO. Revenue at Europe's largest companies is expected to have risen by just 0.9% in the fourth quarter, Refinitiv I/B/E/S data showed on Tuesday. The forecast, which tracks companies listed on the pan-European STOXX 600 (.STOXX) benchmark index, represents a drop from last week when analysts expected revenue growth of 4%. Analysts downgrade earnings forecastsInvestment strategists at Standard Chartered say it is time to fade the rally seen in European stocks and the euro since the lows of September.

☆ Barclays names former Credit Suisse dealmaker Deasy as investment banking co-head
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Jan 24 (Reuters) - Barclays (BARC.L) has appointed former Credit Suisse (CSGN.S) dealmaker Cathal Deasy as co-head of investment banking, the lender said on Tuesday, as Chief Executive C.S. Deasy left Credit Suisse a few weeks ago, just months after being promoted to regional co-head of its investment banking & capital markets (IBCM) unit. JF Astier and John Miller, who currently lead investment banking, are in "active dialogue" with Barclays about what roles they might now take, a Barclays spokesperson said. Astier and Miller were promoted in 2021 to lead investment banking as part of a new management team. Barclays' investment bank has had a strong performance in recent quarters, thanks in part to a boom in fixed income trading, which has traditionally been one of its core strengths.

Sinema, who switched from Democrat to independent in December, had been a maverick within the Democratic Party, voting against several of President Joe Biden's priorities over the past two years. That angered many Democrats, some of whom had encouraged primary challengers even before Sinema left the party. The race represents a delicate balancing act for both parties, and the stakes are high. Arizona is among the most competitive states in the country, and Democrats and Republicans will be wary of splitting votes between their nominee and Sinema. Democrats hold a one-seat advantage in the Senate, when Sinema and two other left-leaning independents are counted among their ranks.

☆ Ken Griffin has built two of Wall Street's most powerful firms. His next target could be influencing politics.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Ken Griffin, the founder and CEO of Citadel. It's good to be Ken Griffin. Plenty of people find success on Wall Street that most can only dream of. But Ken Griffin seems to be winning in ways that even his peers can't fathom. Click here to read more about Ken Griffin rise to the top of Wall Street and what could be next for the billionaire.

☆ Meet Jesse Cohn, the hedge fund wunderkind building a campaign on Salesforce
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( Casey Sullivan | Bradley Saacks | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

One of the key players behind the campaign is 42-year-old Jesse Cohn, Paul Singer's right-hand man. Hedge fund Elliott Management has taken a multi-billion dollar stake in Salesforce, as the tech company deals with layoffs and a management shake-up. And Cohn, one of Elliott's chief agitators, has emerged as quarterback, announcing his respect for co-CEO Marc Benioff in a statement. "He said, 'Hey, let me talk to you,'" Knowles told BI in 2019. He had the files laid out on a conference-room table when the board met with Cohn in Elliott's New York office.

☆ Credit Suisse sees money returning to the bank -CEO
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

ZURICH, Jan 18 (Reuters) - Credit Suisse (CSGN.S) is seeing a reversal of outflows, CEO Ulrich Koerner said in an interview with CNBC in Davos on Wednesday. "Outflows have reduced very significantly and we are seeing money now coming back in different parts of the firm," he said. Koerner said he has "zero concerns" about conflicts of interest surrounding the bank's acquisition of former Credit Suisse board member Michael Klein's advisory firm. Earlier this month it was reported the Swiss bank would value M. Klein & Company at a few hundred million dollars. The potential deal is expected to allow M. Klein & Co. shareholders to take an eventual stake in CS First Boston using proceeds from the sale.

☆ How VC Moritz Baier-Lentz went from being one of the world's best professional gamers to the new head of Lightspeed's gaming practice
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( Madeline Renbarger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Moritz Baier-Lentz is joining Lightspeed Venture Partners as a partner to lead its gaming practice. Before becoming a top gaming investor, he was the top global professional "Diablo II" player. But he ditched his competitive gaming career for a more traditional career path in business. Lightspeed Venture Partners' newest partner Moritz Baier-Lentz has been a prominent gaming investor for years, orchestrating deals for big banks like Goldman Sachs and backing startups in the gaming space as an early-stage venture investor at BITKRAFT Ventures. Baier-Lentz put his gaming career on pause to go to college and then went on to work as a data manager for IBM.

☆ The private-equity firm behind Italian soccer champs AC Milan is quietly building a financial services powerhouse
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-05 | by ( Hayley Cuccinello | Dakin Campbell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

RedBird Capital is best known as the private-equity owner of soccer club AC Milan. But the sports dealmaker is quietly building a financial services arm to rival its flashier bets. RedBird Capital is one of the buzziest names in dealmaking when it comes to sports and Hollywood. In August, the New York City-based private equity firm bought soccer club AC Milan for $1.2 billion. The firm's philosophies for financial services and sports are one and the same: taking advantage of fragmented environments with firms that have long-term recurring cash flow.

The last time the House failed to elect a speaker on the first ballot was in 1923, during a contest that took nine ballots to resolve. Possibilities include number two House Republican Steve Scalise and Representative Jim Jordan - who received 20 votes when nominated on Tuesday. But House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries told reporters that Republicans have not reached out to discuss that option. Well, I am not going to surrender," Republican Representative Trent Kelly said at a news conference on Wednesday evening. Wednesday's three failed votes - following three failed votes on Tuesday - also served as a rebuke to Trump, who had urged Republicans to unite behind McCarthy.

☆ Our predictions for big themes in 2023, from China tensions to the abundance agenda and tech discipline
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-01 | by ( Matt Turner | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

On the agenda today:But first: Now that it's 2023, I want to share some of the things I'm personally fascinated with that I think will be big themes for the year ahead. 3 big themes for 2023China tensions: The fate of the world economy may depend on what happens to a company in Taiwan most Americans have never heard of. These are all huge storylines for 2023 driven by increasing tensions between China and the US. Big tech companies are making their performance reviews tougher. What do you think are the big themes that will shape 2023?

☆ Our best stories on financial tech in 2022
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-30 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Today, we're going to recap all the great stories we've done this year on financial tech, whether it's up-and-coming startups or the projects at the biggest banks and investment firms. Wall Street and sports have a long history together. How top Wall Street firms are testing out cutting-edge tech. Shaw, here are 10 of the most innovative tech projects at top Wall Street firms. And we also identified the top Big Tech executives who could get poached by Wall Street firms looking to do more in the cloud.

☆ How Gerry Cardinale became the go-to dealmaker for the likes of the Yankees, AC Milan, and Ben Affleck
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-29 | by ( Hayley Cuccinello | Dakin Campbell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +20 min

He bought the soccer club AC Milan in August, earning the attention of the Italian press. This past spring, AC Milan won its first national title in 11 years. Claudio Villa/AC Milan via Getty Images Show less Cardinale at a training session for AC Milan. For instance, the teams sell each other's merchandise in their stadiums, and the YES Network airs AC Milan games. "Now we have a new phase of expansion and internationalization of AC Milan with Gerry."

☆ Netflix will be next on Microsoft’s shopping list
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( Jennifer Saba | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Look for him to add Netflix (NFLX.O) to the list in 2023. Since his 2014 promotion into the technology titan’s corner office, Nadella has embarked on a pricey shopping spree. Later, Microsoft bought LinkedIn for $26 billion and the speech recognition and artificial intelligence software developer Nuance for $20 billion. Even if Nadella loses out on the video-game company for competition reasons, however, owning Netflix would make strategic sense and probably be an easier sell in Washington and Brussels. With a market value 13 times that of Netflix, as of early December, $1.8 trillion Microsoft can afford Netflix.

For the last five years, Insider has been spotlighting up-and-comers on Wall Street. We've asked the rising stars about the books that informed both their careers and personal growth. If you're struggling to come up with a good gift for a successful dealmaker or trader, we've got you covered. Over the last few years, we've asked our Wall Street rising stars to recommend books to our readers and how these must-reads helped them succeed in their careers. So if you have an overachieving Wall Streeter in your life, look no further than this selection of 35 books below.

☆ Private-equity firms are coming around to the idea of using more data in the investment process. It's still an uphill battle.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Take Blackstone, which recently expanded a data tool it originally built for its real-estate business to be used across its PE portfolio. As recently as just a few years ago, PE firms were just starting to warm to the idea of building out data-science teams. But that tech has been a hard sell for PE firms as well, until recently. Many PE firms are just now waking up to the possibilities of the public cloud. To be fair to PE firms, figuring out how to incorporate data analysis into the investing process is no easy task.

☆ Fidelity National agrees review, adds director after D.E. Shaw pressure
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Svea Herbst-Bayliss | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NEW YORK, Dec 15 (Reuters) - Fidelity National Information Services (FIS.N) said on Thursday that it will undertake a strategic review and add a new director to its board after pressure from hedge fund D.E. Ferris and the board will lead the review which will evaluate the company's business structures and portfolio of assets as well as focus on cutting costs and improving margins. Ferris had been FIS president where she led the integration of Worldpay and steered the company's global business strategy. FIS said on Thursday it had now appointed Jeffrey Goldstein, currently lead independent director, as independent chairman instead. Shaw's calls for a strategic review that could help boost the share price, the company said.

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