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☆ File Raiffeisen’s sanctions-bypass idea in the bin
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, March 16 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Raiffeisen Bank International thinks it may have found a clever way to repatriate a small part of its Russian assets. Hence the idea to swap its stranded roubles against the frozen euros accumulated by Sberbank, the Kremlin-owned bank forced to unwind its operations by the war in Ukraine. Up to 400 million euros of its assets are now sitting idle in a frozen fund. Promoters of the idea, now being tested with regulators, reckon this might conform with sanctions because the swap would not involve sending hard currency to Russia. In reality, it would allow Russia’s largest bank to recover its frozen money, opening a massive loophole in the sanctions regime.

☆ India's Adani prepays $2.15 billion share-backed loans
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 12 (Reuters) - Adani Group said it had completed full prepayment of margin-linked share-backed financing worth $2.15 billion as part of its debt prepayment plan, before its deadline of March 31. Adani Group last year acquired Holcim AG's (HOLN.S) cement businesses in India – Ambuja Cements and ACC Ltd – for $10.5 billion, its largest-ever acquisition. Hindenburg's report alleged stock manipulation and improper use of tax havens, and flagged "substantial" debt levels, which the group has denied. Gautam Adani and his family have prepaid all borrowings backed by his conglomerate Adani Group's shares, senior executives told investors at a meeting in London, Bloomberg News reported last week. Reporting by Baranjot Kaur and Jahnavi Nidumolu in Bengaluru; Editing by David HolmesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Indian shares set for muted start as Powell reiterates hawkish message
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BENGALURU, March 9 (Reuters) - Indian shares are set for a muted open on Thursday, on concerns of a prolonged high-interest rate regime after U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell reiterated his hawkish stance on the second day of congressional testimony. Indian shares extended gains for a third session in a row on Wednesday, in contrast to global peers. Indian equities are likely to remain rangebound ahead of the Federal Reserve's policy decision on March 22, two analysts said. ** Adani Enterprises (ADEL.NS), Adani Power (ADAN.NS), Adani Wilmar (ADAW.NS): NSE places three group firms under short-term additional surveillance measures from March 1. ($1 = 81.9910 Indian rupees)Reporting by Bharath Rajeswaran in Bengaluru; editing by Eileen SorengOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ India's Adani Group pre-pays over $900 mln worth share-backed financing
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The billionaire Gautam Adani-led Adani Group has been looking to ease concerns about its credit profile after a U.S.-based short seller noted high debt and alleged improper use of offshore tax havens and stock manipulation, which Adani denied. Promoters of the group's flagship firm, Adani Enterprises (ADEL.NS) will release 31 million shares, or a 4% stake, while Adani Ports' (APSE.NS) promoters will release 155 million shares, or an 11.8% stake, the group said in a statement. Promoters of Adani Green Energy (ADNA.NS) and Adani Transmission (ADAI.NS) will release 1.2% and 4.5% stakes in the respective companies. In a similar move, the group in February pre-paid $1.11 billion. With Tuesday's repayment, the group has so far repaid around $2.02 billion of share-backed financing, it said.

☆ India's Adani Group pre-pays over $900 million worth share-backed financing
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BENGALURU, March 7 (Reuters) - Embattled Indian conglomerate Adani Group said it prepaid share-backed financing of 73.74 billion rupees ($901.16 million), as it looks to allay fears over leverage and debt since a U.S. short seller's critical report sparked a stock rout. Promoters of the group's flagship firm, Adani Enterprises (ADEL.NS), will release 31 million shares, or a 4% stake, while Adani Ports' (APSE.NS) promoters will release 155 million shares, or an 11.8% stake, the group said in a statement on Tuesday. Promoters of Adani Green Energy (ADNA.NS) and Adani Transmission (ADAI.NS) will release 1.2% and 4.5% stakes in the respective companies. With Tuesday's repayment, the group has so far repaid around $2.02 billion of share-backed financing, it said. GQG's founder Rajiv Jain will meet clients and investors in Australia this week to explain its investment in the Adani group, the company said in a separate statement on Tuesday.

☆ Marianne Williamson opens long shot 2024 challenge to Biden
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-04 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Biden, 80, is the oldest president in U.S. history and would be 86 at the end of a second term. Biden's political advisers say they aren't worried about the Democratic primary and say Biden is anxious to defeat Donald Trump again in the general election. Williamson insists her 2024 campaign is about far more than just making a statement. A Texas native who now lives in Beverly Hills, California, Williamson is the author of more than a dozen books. She ran an unsuccessful independent congressional campaign in California in 2014 and supported Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders' 2016 progressive challenge of eventual Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.

☆ Another Stock Market Crash Coming, Wall Street's Top Investors Warn
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Linette Lopez | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

This elation has lulled Wall Street into a false sense of security, according to the investing world's elite who I've spoken with over the past few weeks. It's like all the good little boys and girls on Wall Street asked for a rally for Christmas and got it. He added that nonprofessional retail investors' strong return to the market indicated an unsustainable rally. Anytime Wall Street has forgotten that over the past year, it has gotten punished. And that means Wall Street will eventually have to open its eyes, take its fingers out of its ears, and watch this bear-market rally fall apart.

☆ Boies, co-counsel move to grab control of all private FTX cases
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-13 | by ( Alison Frankel | Thomson Reuters | Alison Frankel Has Covered High-Stakes Commercial Litigation As A Columnist For Reuters Since A Dartmouth College Graduate | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation, that the judge overseeing their Miami cases, U.S. District Judge Michael Moore, has already proven in their brand ambassador cases that he can steer FTX cases quickly and efficiently. Not everyone pursuing claims on behalf of FTX customers agrees with Boies and Moskowitz. (To be clear, these private cases are different from cases that could be brought by a court-appointed receiver or trustee in FTX’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy.) If the cases go to California, the California slate is a likelier candidate. It will be a few months before any ruling on the Boies and Moskowitz consolidation petition.

☆ Adani says it will repay over $1 billion in debt ahead of schedule in a bid to halt stock-market rout
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( George Glover | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Embattled Indian conglomerate Adani Group is paying back $1.1 billion in debt ahead of schedule. It's scrambling to halt a stocks rout that's wiped out over $110 billion in market value over the past fortnight. The selloff came after US short-seller Hindenburg Research accused the group of market manipulation and fraud. The borrowings were backed by Adani Ports, Adani Green Energy, and Adani Transmission – three of the group's companies that have seen their share prices plummet over the past fortnight. Adani said it had paid off its debt ahead of schedule "in light of recent market volatility and in continuation of the promoters' commitment to reduce the overall promoter leverage backed by Adani Listed Company shares."

☆ Adani Plans $1.1 Billion Loan Repayment After Share Collateral Plummets
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( Dave Sebastian | Weilun Soon | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The ports-to-energy conglomerate controlled by Indian billionaire Gautam Adani said its founders will prepay a $1.1 billion loan that was backed by shares of some of its companies, a move to shore up investor confidence after a rout in its stock prices over the past two weeks. The Adani Group said Monday that its so-called promoters—a term used to describe controlling shareholders—have posted amounts to pay off the loan ahead of its maturity in September 2024. The loan was backed by shares in several Adani companies, all of which have fallen dramatically since U.S. short seller Hindenburg Research published a scathing report on the Adani Group on Jan. 24.

☆ Adani Group Plans $1.1 Billion Loan Repayment After Share Collateral Plummets
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( Dave Sebastian | Weilun Soon | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

☆ Adani crisis: Billionaire scrambles to reassure creditors as market rout enters third week
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( Diksha Madhok | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

The loans were backed by shares in Adani Ports, Adani Green Energy and Adani Transmission, which have collapsed in value. While the Adani Group has vehemently denied the allegation made by Hindenburg Resarch as “baseless” and “malicious,” investors remain unconvinced. Adani companies will be reporting quarterly results this week. Moody’s said Friday that the plunge in the shares of Adani companies was likely to reduce the group’s ability to raise capital. Another agency, S&P, cut the outlook for its ratings on two companies, Adani Ports and Adani Electricity, to negative from stable, citing the risk of higher funding costs or reduced access to capital.

☆ Former heavyweight champion Joshua to return to ring in April
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] Boxing - Oleksandr Usyk v Anthony Joshua - WBA, WBO and IBF heavyweight world title - King Abdullah Sports City Arena, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia - August 20, 2022 Anthony Joshua after losing his fight against Oleksandr Usyk Action Images via Reuters/Andrew Couldridge/File PhotoLONDON, Feb 6 (Reuters) - Britain's former twice world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua will make his ring return in London on April 1 against American Jermaine Franklin, promoters Matchroom and DAZN said on Monday. The fight at the 02 Arena will be the first time in nearly seven years that Joshua, 33, has fought without a world title at stake. The Briton has not fought since his second straight loss to Ukraine's WBA, WBO, IBF and IBO champion Oleksandr Usyk in a title rematch in Saudi Arabia last August. "Mentally and physically I feel ready," said Joshua, who has a new trainer in Derrick James for the fight against a 29-year-old opponent. Franklin, who has a 21-1 record with 14 knockouts and whose first defeat was on points to Britain's Dillian Whyte at Wembley Arena last November, said Joshua had "had his time".

☆ Mutual funds have low exposure to Adani companies
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Feb 1 (Reuters) - Mutual funds have low exposure to listed Adani Group companies, whose shares have dropped since publication of a report into the group by Hindenburg Research on Jan. 24. Mutual funds from India and elsewhere hold just 3.4% of Adani Enterprises (ADEL.NS), 2.8% of Adani Total Gas (ADAG.NS) and 3.6% of Adani Green Energy (ADNA.NS). Adani Enterprises and Adani Port (APSE.NS) are constituents of the Nifty 50, so they are automatically in portfolios of some exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and index funds. But active funds have very little exposure to Adani stocks and are largely unscathed by their fall. Among active funds, the Kotak Balanced Advantage fund , which has positions in Adani Enterprises and Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone, has shed just 0.5%.

India's largest ever secondary share sale attracted participation from anchor investors including Maybank Securities and Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, as well as India's HDFC Life Insurance and state-backed Life Insurance Corporation (LIFI.NS). By Tuesday the overall share sale was fully subscribed as foreign institutional investors and corporate funds flooded in, although participation by retail investors and Adani Enterprises (ADEL.NS) employees remained low. Support for Adani's share sale came even as the flagship's shares closed at 2,973.9 rupees, up nearly 3% but below the lower end of the sale price band of 3,112 rupees. So, what happens to one particular corporate group, is a matter between the market and the corporate group." Reuters GraphicsHindenburg said in its report it had shorted U.S.-bonds and non-India traded derivatives of the Adani Group.

☆ Adani rides out storm as investors rally behind $2.5 billion share sale
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

But on Tuesday, the overall share sale was fully subscribed as foreign institutional investors and corporates pumped in funds, although participation by retail investors and Adani Enterprises employees remained low. That sparked $65 billion in cumulative losses for stocks of the Adani group, which called the report baseless. The support for Adani's share sale came even as the flagship's shares closed at 2,973.9 rupees, up nearly 3% but below the lower end of the sale price band of 3,112 rupees. Demand mostly came from foreign institutional investors, as well as corporates who bid in excess of 1 million rupees each, data showed. Adani Transmission closed nearly 4% higher on Tuesday after losing 38% since the Hindenburg report, while Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone climbed 2.6%.

☆ Instant View: Adani's $2.5 billion offer rides out share storm with investor backing
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

COMMENTARYAMBAREESH BALIGA, INDEPENDENT MARKET ANALYST, MUMBAI"The FPO did get subscribed, thanks to a few institutional as well as large family offices. DEEPAK JASANI, HEAD OF RETAIL RESEARCH, HDFC SECURITIES, MUMBAI"For Indian markets, one of the concern areas is out of the way for the time being as this was weighing on investor sentiment. Since the current market price is below the offer price, the retail subscription was low as investors can rather buy it from the market." That was their focus area considering the fact that there was a difference between the market price and the floor price of the FPO. It seems that retail investors did not consider the fact that there is more to rates than just the price."

Madonna sang the praises of nonfungible tokens, or NFTs, depicting cartoon portraits of bored apes. Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady appeared in commercials endorsing crypto exchange FTX, which collapsed suddenly in November. And Kim Kardashian gushed about EMAX tokens on Instagram. Now they and other celebrities are facing civil lawsuits from investors who suffered losses on virtual assets, as well as scrutiny by regulators for allegedly duping the investing public. The legal actions, which have prompted some agents to caution their clients against financial endorsements, could clarify the ground rules for crypto promotions, as well as the hurdles investors must clear to hold promoters liable when investments go south.

The conglomerate led by Asia's richest man, the Indian billionaire Gautam Adani, said last week's Hindenburg report was intended to enable the U.S.-based short seller to book gains, without citing evidence. This has been overshadowed by the Hindenburg report, which flagged concerns about high debt levels and the use of tax havens. Hindenburg did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the Adani response on Sunday. The report also said five of seven key listed Adani companies have reported current ratios - a measure of liquid assets minus near-term liabilities - of below 1. It also said key listed Adani companies had "substantial debt" which has put the entire group on a "precarious financial footing" and that shares in seven Adani listed companies have an 85% downside on a fundamental basis due to what it called "sky-high valuations".

The stunning market selloff has cast a shadow over Adani Enterprises' secondary share sale that started on Friday. The share sale is being managed by Jefferies, India's SBI Capital Markets, Axis Capital, and ICICI Securities among others. Shares of other listed Adani firms also plummeted, with Adani Transmission Ltd (ADAI.NS), Adani Total Gas (ADAG.NS), Adani Green Energy (ADNA.NS) and Adani Ports (APSE.NS) sinking 20% each. Adani Ports, Adani Green Energy and Adani Transmission marked their worst intraday drop ever, with heavy volumes. Billionaire U.S. investor Bill Ackman said on Thursday that he found the Hindenburg report "highly credible and extremely well researched."

Adani Group has dismissed the report as baseless and said it is considering whether to take legal action against the New York-based firm. "There were heavy positions in Adani group (shares), the way they have risen in the last couple of years," said Neeraj Dewan, director at Quantum Securities in New Delhi. Shares of other listed Adani firms also plummetted, with Adani Transmission Ltd (ADAI.NS) Adani Total Gas (ADAG.NS), Adani Green Energy (ADNA.NS) and Adani Ports (APSE.NS) sinking 20% each. Adani Enterprises' net profit for the period ended Sept. 30, 2022 doubled to 9 billion Indian rupees ($110.31 million) while its total income nearly tripled to 795 billion Indian rupees, according to its share sale prospectus. The company's total liabilities as of September 2022 stood at 869 billion rupees ($10.64 billion), the prospectus showed.

☆ India's Adani kicks off $2.45 bln share sale while under short-seller attack
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Adani Group firms lost $11 billion in market capitalisation on Wednesday after New York-based Hindenburg Research flagged concerns in a report about debt levels and the use of tax havens. Adani Group dismissed the report as baseless. Adani Enterprises, the flagship company of a conglomerate led by world's fourth-richest man, Gautam Adani, aims to use the share sale proceeds for capital expenditure and to pay debt. Adani Group has repeatedly faced and dismissed concern about debt levels. The share sale "should sail through successfully."

Hindenburg, known for having shorted electric truck maker Nikola Corp (NKLA.O) and Twitter, said it holds short positions in Adani companies through U.S.-traded bonds and non-Indian-traded derivative instruments. Shares in Adani Transmission (ADAI.NS) fell 9%, Adani Ports And Special Economic Zone (APSE.NS) slipped 6.3% and Adani Enterprises ended down 1.5%. Adani Group's total gross debt in the financial year ended March 31, 2022, rose 40% to 2.2 trillion rupees. Refinitiv data shows debt at Adani Group's seven key listed Adani companies exceeds equity, with debt at Adani Green Energy Ltd (ADNA.NS) exceeding equity by more than 2,000%. Hindenburg also said it was concerned that a high proportion of equity held by promoters or key shareholders in Adani Group listed companies has been pledged for loans.

☆ Formula One accuses FIA head of commercial interference
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( Alan Baldwin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

LONDON, Jan 24 (Reuters) - Liberty Media-owned Formula One has accused FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem of interfering with its commercial rights by publicly questioning a reported $20 billion valuation of the sport. They also fuel the sense of an emerging turf war between the governing body and a commercial rights holder eager to grow an expanding and increasingly popular championship in new directions. Sky Sports News reported that Formula One's legal head Sacha Woodward Hill and Liberty Media counterpart Renee Wilm had sent a joint letter to the FIA accusing the governing body of exceeding its remit. "The FIA has given unequivocal undertakings that it will not do anything to prejudice the ownership, management and/or exploitation of those rights," Sky quoted Formula One's letter as saying. There was no comment from Formula One and no immediate response from the FIA.

☆ Ticketmaster under fire: 6 takeaways from hearing over Taylor Swift concert fiasco
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( Samantha Murphy Kelly | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

The venues controlled by Live Nation set fees that are “consistent with the other venues in the marketplace,” he said. Entertainment industry pushes back at Ticketmaster’s dominanceMembers of the entertainment industry and one rival spoke out against Ticketmaster’s dominance in the industry. Andrew Harnik/APClyde Lawrence, a singer-songwriter on the witness panel, explained how the company acts as a promoter, a venue and the ticketing company, which eats into performing artists’ revenues. Artists, he said, have no leverage over Live Nation. Lawmaker says Ticketmaster merger should ‘be on the table’Lawmakers repeatedly questioned the US government’s past handling of the Live Nation merger with Ticketmaster.

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