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☆ Adani-owned NDTV profit plunges about 98% on weak advertising demand
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BENGALURU, May 1 (Reuters) - Indian broadcaster New Delhi Television Ltd (NDTV) (NDTV.NS), part of the embattled Adani Group, posted a 97.6% plunge in quarterly profit on Monday due to weak advertising demand. NDTV reported a consolidated net profit of 5.9 million rupees ($72,206.58) for the quarter ended March 31, compared with 241.6 million rupees a year earlier. Revenue from operations fell 35.5% to 669.6 million rupees due to a "slowdown in global advertisement spend," the media company said. Ports-to-energy conglomerate Adani Group holds an about 64.7% stake in NDTV through RRPR Holding and Vishvapradhan Commercial after a contentious battle last year. Last month, rival TV18 Broadcast Ltd (TVEB.NS), owned by Reliance Industries Ltd (RELI.NS), also reported a slump in quarterly profit, citing lower-than-expected advertising revenue.

MUMBAI, NEW DELHI, April 29 (Reuters) - India’s market regulator has asked for a six-month extension to complete its probe into possible lapses in securities market laws and regulatory disclosures by billionaire Gautam Adani's Adani group, according to a court document seen by Reuters. SEBI and the Adani group did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. The Supreme Court asked the regulator to conduct an inquiry into Adani after U.S.-based short-seller Hindenburg Research raised concerns around its governance practices in a January report. In its application, the regulator said it needed more time "to conduct a proper investigation and arrive at verified findings". The regulator said that it had received information from several Adani group entities.

[1/2] The Nasdaq logo is displayed at the Nasdaq Market site in Times Square in New York City, U.S., December 3, 2021. So-called meme rallies are unusual share price gains, driven by social media sites patronized by individual traders. Magic Empire Global Ltd (MEGL.O), a provider of financial advisory and underwriting services, jumped 328% to $3.97 per share. It had closed at $0.93, shedding 7.2%, with a market capitalization of $18.8 million during regular market hours on Thursday. Both Top Financial and Magic Empire are currently two of the most watched stocks on Stocktwits, a website that is popular among retail investors.

☆ Dollar bonds of India's Adani Ports rise as company starts debt buyback
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MUMBAI, April 24 (Reuters) - The U.S. dollar-denominated bonds issued by India's Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSE.NS) rose on Monday, after the company commenced a cash tender offer for a buyback of securities. On Monday, Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSE.NS), part of the beleaguered Adani Group, said it has floated a tender of up to $130 million of 3.375% 2024 maturity dollar-denominated bonds. The company has engaged Barclays Bank, DBS Bank, Emirates NBD Bank PJSC, First Abu Dhabi Bank, PJSC, MUFG Securities Asia Singapore Branch, SMBC Nikko Securities (Hong Kong) and StandardChartered Bank to serve as dealer managers for the offer. The dollar bonds of Adani Transmission (ADAI.NS), Adani Green Energy (ADNA.NS) and Adani Electricity Mumbai were trading mixed. However, India's market regulator is looking into Hindenburg's allegations as well as the group's related party dealings following a Supreme Court directive.

☆ India's Adani Ports starts $130 mln buyback of debt securities
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

April 24 (Reuters) - India's Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSE.NS), a group company of the beleaguered Adani Group, said on Monday it has started a buyback programme of certain debt securities to partly prepay near-term loans due in 2024. Adani Ports said in an exchange filing that it has floated a tender of up to $130 million in outstanding debt, as it tries to boost investor confidence after the group's shares were pummelled earlier this year by a U.S. short-seller's report. The Economic Times first reported on Monday, citing sources, that the Adani Group plans to buy back foreign currency bonds of various group companies, starting with a $650-million tranche at its ports unit. Adani Group did not immediately respond to a Reuters' request for comment on its buyback plans. Shares and bonds of Adani Group have regained some lost ground over the past month or so after it repaid some debt and attracted a $1.9 billion investment from boutique investment firm GQG Partners.

☆ Norway’s giant sovereign wealth fund says there’s money to be saved by identifying ‘rotten apples’
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( Sam Meredith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Norges Bank Investment Management CEO Nicolai Tangen says it is becoming increasingly important to identify as many "rotten apples" as it can. Norway's gigantic sovereign wealth fund believes it is becoming increasingly important to identify as many "rotten apples" as possible, saying there is money to be saved by reducing risks to companies whose state of health is not all as it seems. "We think it's becoming more and more important to put resources into finding what I call the 'rotten apples.' The Jan. 24 report accused Adani Group companies of "brazen stock manipulation and accounting fraud" — allegations that the conglomerate has denied. We'll never be able to spot all of the 'rotten apples', but we can try to find as many as we can."

☆ KBW downgrades this payments stock with 'small risks starting to add up'
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( Brian Evans | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

A growing list of headwinds is beginning to signal worry for Jack Dorsey's Block , according to KBW. The firm downgraded Block to market perform from outperform, citing pressure from small risks that are piling up. KBW also lowered its price target on Block shares to $75 per share from $90. "We think SQ's risk/reward profile has become less attractive as multiple risks are starting to add up," KBW's Steven Kwok wrote. "This could pressure volume growth, take rates, and ultimately profitability," Kwok said.

☆ Cash App founder Bob Lee stabbed to death in San Francisco, says father
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

April 5 (Reuters) - Block Inc (SQ.N)-owned Cash App's founder Bob Lee was stabbed to death in San Francisco on Tuesday, according to a Facebook post shared by his father. loading"I just lost my best friend, my son Bob Lee when he lost his life on the street in San Francisco early Tuesday morning," said Rick Lee in a post which linked a TechCrunch article on the stabbing. The San Francisco Police Department said late on Tuesday that a 43-year-old man was stabbed early in the day and succumbed to injuries in the hospital. Cash App allows users to transfer money through a mobile application and is touted by the company as an alternative to traditional banking services. Lee was the chief product officer for cryptocurrency company MobileCoin, where he was also previously an early-stage investor and adviser, the company said on Twitter.

☆ Adani trumpets stable ties to global banks in bid to ease investor worries, document shows
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( Aditya Kalra | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The document, which was reviewed by Reuters, did not elaborate on how the lenders reaffirmed their commitment to the Adani group. Adani group did not respond to a request for comment. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc (MUFG) (8306.T), Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc's (8316.T) SMBC unit, Mizuho Financial Group (8411.T), Standard Chartered (STAN.L) and Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE) did not immediately respond. CONCERNS ABOUT DEBTThe Hindenburg report had sparked concern among investors about banks' exposures to the Adani group. Now, 39% of Adani's debt is currently in the form of bonds, 29% is from global banks and 32% comes from public or private banks in India, the Adani document added.

☆ Rahul Gandhi to appeal jail sentence
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MUMBAI, April 2 (Reuters) - Indian opposition leader Rahul Gandhi will appeal a two-year jail sentence in a defamation case brought against him by lawmaker from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), local media reported on Sunday. A lower court sentenced Gandhi on March 23 for two years in jail on charges of defamation. The opposition critics accuse Modi government of giving undue favours to a business group led by billionaire tycoon Adani. Shares of Adani group companies plunged after Hindenburg Research on Jan. 24 alleged that the Indian company had engaged in stock manipulation and used tax havens. A day after Gandhi's conviction, 14 political parties jointly petitioned the Supreme Court, saying opposition groups were being selectively targeted by federal investigative agencies.

☆ Exclusive: India regulator probing some Adani offshore deals for possible rule violations-sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-01 | by ( Jayshree P Upadhyay | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

An Adani Group spokesperson said Vinod Adani is a member of the Adani family and is part of the promoter group, but he does not hold any managerial position in any of the listed Adani entities or their subsidiaries. Vinod Adani could not be reached for comment. Hindenburg's report eroded more than $100 billion in the value of shares in Adani group of companies. India's Supreme Court asked SEBI in March to investigate the Adani Group for any lapses related to public shareholding, related party rules or regulatory disclosures. SEBI's investigation into Adani's possible 'related party' transactions with offshore entities with links to Vinod Adani has not been reported before.

☆ After Adani’s Crisis, India’s Vedanta Looks Vulnerable Too
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Megha Mandavia | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Struggling Indian infrastructure heavyweight Adani Group hasn’t tipped over any other large dominoes yet. But another sprawling Indian conglomerate—miner Vedanta Resources—is looking wobbly. Market skittishness in the wake of the turmoil at Adani Group, which came under attack from short seller Hindenburg Research in late January, means that other indebted Indian companies—which otherwise might have muddled their way through the Federal Reserve hiking cycle—could increasingly find themselves under investors’ microscopes. A Vedanta Resources dollar bond due in May 2023 was yielding about 50% on Friday according to Refinitiv—about double the level at the end of January.

☆ Block gave a 'robust' response to brutal short-seller report, and shares of the Cash App parent are looking at 40% upside, Bank of America says
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Carla Mozée | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Block gave a "robust" response to Hindenburg Research's report raising fraud concerns at the Cash App parent. The short-seller said its two-year investigation raised concerns about Block's reporting on monthly active accounts on Cash App and related compliance processes. "These metrics suggest that the short report's allegation that 40-75% of Cash App accounts are fake/fraudulent/duplicative is not credible." Hindenburg said Friday that Block's response "confirmed it has reported inflated user counts to investors for years." Downside risks to BofA's price objective include intensifying competition, macro conditions for small and medium-sized businesses, and a lack of diversification for Cash App revenue and gross profit streams.

☆ Hindenburg says Block response confirms it inflated Cash App user counts
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 31 (Reuters) - U.S. short seller Hindenburg Research said on Friday Block Inc's (SQ.N) response to its allegations confirmed it had reported inflated user counts on its Cash App to investors for years. The payments firm led by Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey said on Thursday that 44 million of its more than 51 million monthly active customers on Cash App were verified through its identity program as of Dec. 31. "Block's newly reported internal estimates also show that its previously reported 51 million monthly transacting actives as of December 2022 represented a 16%-31% inflation of its actual estimated internal user counts," Hindenburg said in a note published on its website. After taking a short position in Block, Hindenburg alleged in the report that the payments firm overstated its Cash App user numbers and understated its customer acquisition costs. Short sellers typically sell borrowed securities and aim to buy these back at a lower price.

☆ Jim Cramer's top 10 things to watch in the stock market Friday: Stars of first quarter and Alphabet's AI risk
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Jim Cramer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

AI is a real problem for Club holding Alphabet (GOOGL), according to Piper Sandler, which lowers price target to $117 per share from $120. Raises price target to $75 per share from $72. Baird raises price target on Okta (OKTA) to $100 per share from $92. Morgan Stanley raises price target on e.l.f. As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade.

☆ Electric truck maker Nikola is planning to sell its own shares at a 20% discount to their lowest ever price
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Zinya Salfiti | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Nikola is planning to raise $100 million by selling its stock at a huge discount. The electric truck manufacturer said Thursday that it would sell shares at $1.12, or 20% below their lowest ever price. The electric truck manufacturer said in a statement Thursday that it planned to raise the $100 million by selling 29.9 million shares to the public and another 59.4 million shares to an unnamed investor. It's pricing the shares at just $1.12 as part of the stock offering, a 20% discount to the all-time low of $1.40 they had fallen to by Thursday's closing bell. Nikola shares have cratered around 95% since Hindenburg released its first report into the company on September 10.

☆ Block says Cash App has 44 mln verified monthly users after Hindenburg report
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

March 30 (Reuters) - Block Inc (SQ.N) said on Thursday 44 million of its more 51 million monthly active customers on Cash App were verified through its identity program as of Dec. 31. The payments firm also estimated that the verified accounts constituted roughly 97% of Cash App inflows. After taking a short position in Block, the report alleged that the payments firm led by Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey overstated its Cash App user numbers and understated its customer acquisition costs. Block has denied the allegations, saying it would explore legal action against the short seller for its "factually inaccurate and misleading report" that was "designed to deceive and confuse investors". Reporting by Manya Saini in Bengaluru; Editing by Pooja Desai and Arun KoyyurOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Fitch says contagion risks loom over two Adani entities
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 29 (Reuters) - Ratings agency Fitch said two Adani Group subsidiaries are exposed to "heightened contagion risks", possibly affecting their financial flexibility, due to governance weakness at the parent conglomerate and other Adani group companies. Fitch said that Adani Transmission Ltd (ADAI.NS) and Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSE.NS) are prone to risks, according to a note released late on Tuesday. Fitch early last month said it had seen no immediate impact on its ratings of Adani Group entities and their securities following short-seller Hindenburg Research's Jan. 24 report on the conglomerate. Fitch still said "cash flow generation from January 2023 to March 2024 will boost the liquidity of the rated groups." Reporting by Juby Babu in Bengaluru and Praveen Paramasivam in Chennai; Editing by Sonia Cheema, Nivedita BhattacharjeeOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ It's becoming increasingly clear that fintech has a fraud problem
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( Bianca Chan | Paige Hagy | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

"With fast growth comes fast fraud," Frank McKenna, a longtime fraud expert who works with banks, lenders, and fintechs, told Insider. Cash App only requires a zip code, debit-card number, and either an email or phone number to create an account. Cash App's alleged fraud problem could also be the result of its large, active customer base, which numbers some 44 million, according to the company's 2022 annual report. The fact that Cash App offers peer-to-peer payments exacerbates the fraud issue, according to McKenna, the chief fraud strategist at Point Predictive, an anti-fraud software company. Digital-only bank Chime has had its own issues with fraud, Jason Mikula, a fintech analyst and consultant, told Insider.

☆ Adani shares tumble on report group seeking time to pay ACC, Ambuja debt
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BENGALURU, March 28 (Reuters) - Shares of Adani Group companies tumbled on Tuesday after a report said the conglomerate was seeking to renegotiate terms of outstanding loans worth $4 billion taken last year to buy cement firms ACC (ACC.NS) and Ambuja Cements (ABUJ.NS). The group's flagship firm, Adani Enterprises (ADEL.NS), slid nearly 8% to a near four-week low, while Adani Ports (APSE.NS) tumbled 9.2%. The Adani Group and lenders Standard Chartered, Barclays and Deutsche Bank did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment. Whatever expansion plans announced by Adani Ports, Adani Enterprises, and even Adani Total, for the next two years will undergo delays," said Avinash Gorakshakar, head - research of Profitmart Securities. Since the Hindenburg report, Adani Group stocks have lost between 22% and 80%.

☆ India's disqualified Gandhi says he will not stop asking Modi questions
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

NEW DELHI, March 25 (Reuters) - Indian opposition leader Rahul Gandhi said on Saturday he had been disqualified from parliament because he has been asking the prime minister tough questions about his relationship with Gautam Adani, founder of the embattled Adani conglomerate. Gandhi, who represented India’s main opposition Congress party in parliament, lost his seat on Friday, a day after a court in the western state of Gujarat convicted him in a defamation case and sentenced him to two years in jail. The defamation case was filed in connection with comments Gandhi made in a speech that many deemed insulting to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. India's next general election is due by mid-2024 and Gandhi has recently been trying to revive the fortunes of his party. Modi’s enormous popularity remains intact despite the accusations of undue favours to the Adani group, approval ratings have shown.

☆ Short-seller Hindenburg's assertions about Block seem 'deliberately overstated,' analyst says
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-24 | 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 EmailShort-seller Hindenburg's assertions about Block seem 'deliberately overstated,' analyst saysLisa Ellis of MoffettNathanson discusses Hindenburg's short position on Jack Dorsey's payments firm Block and says it's "cherry-picking what I would argue is very likely a very small issue."

☆ Short-seller Hindenburg's report on Block: We're not seeing anything illegal, investment firm says
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-24 | 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 EmailShort-seller Hindenburg's report on Block: We're not seeing anything illegal, investment firm saysMoshe Katri of Wedbush Securities discusses short-seller Hindenburg's short position on Jack Dorsey's payments firm Block and says it's a "legitimate player in the space."

☆ Cramer says it's really easy to hate short sellers, particularly if you own Block
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-24 | by ( Jim Cramer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailCramer says it's really easy to hate short sellers, particularly if you own BlockMad Money host Jim Cramer weighs in on short seller Hindenburg Research's recommendation that investors sell Block shares.

☆ Report claims 'criminal activity and fraud run rampant' on Cash App—what users need to know
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-24 | by ( Kamaron Mcnair | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

A new report from Hindenburg Research, a short seller investment firm, released Thursday has accused Block — the company formerly known as Square, founded by Jack Dorsey — of allowing crime and fraud to "run rampant" on its peer-to-peer payment app, Cash App. The report alleged that Block inflated its customer growth, allowed fake accounts to thrive and dodged revenue regulations — an accusation that triggered a Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) investigation. Hindenburg claims it was able to open fake accounts on Cash App under names Donald Trump and Elon Musk. Block called the report "factually inaccurate" in a statement, and says it is complying with the SEC and exploring legal action against Hindenburg. It's worth noting last March, Block revealed it was the subject of a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) investigation over the way Cash App handles user complaints.

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