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☆ VIEW SVB meltdown triggers global drop in bank shares
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

March 10 (Reuters) - The failure of troubled tech-lender SVB Financial Group's (SIVB.O) efforts to raise capital through a stock sale rippled through global markets on Friday and sent shares of many banks tumbling. read moreShares of SVB, which does business as Silicon Valley Bank, were halted on Friday after tumbling as much as 66% earlier in premarket trading. The S&P 500 banks index (.SPXBK) dropped 0.63% on Friday after a 6.6% decline on Thursday, while the KBW Regional Banking index (.KRX) was down 2.3%. Europe's STOXX banking index (.SX7P) fell almost 5%, tracking toward its biggest one-day percentage slide since June 2022. If investors are concerned about deposit flow, why punish the stocks who have sticky, operational retail checking deposits?

[1/2] European Central Bank and SVB (Silicon Valley Bank) logos are seen in this illustration taken March 10, 2023. SVB, which does business as Silicon Valley Bank, was not immediately available for comment. "Silicon Valley Bank is shedding light on vulnerabilities across the US banking sector, primarily in the bond holdings that many large institutions hold," said Karl Schamotta, Chief Market Strategist at Corpay. “The current liquidity run on Silicon Valley Bank is having a knock-on effect on the wider banking system," said Rick Seehra, Prudential Lead at Bovill. But banking experts said SVB's issues were unique and the worries about the broader sector were not warranted.

BATU PAHAT, Malaysia, March 4 (Reuters) - Flooding resulting from days of torrential rain has forced almost 40,000 people to flee their homes in Malaysia's southern Johor state, bordering Singapore, and at least four people have died during the past week, officials said on Saturday. Authorities have set up more than 200 relief shelters for people displaced by the floods, the national disaster management agency said. Floods in Malaysia are common during the annual monsoon season between October and March, but the downpour this week left many Johor residents scrambling to find shelter. While Johor was worst-hit, there was flooding in other states too that displaced hundreds of people. The meteorological department warned of more rain in coming days, mostly in the southern states.

HUWARA, West Bank—The smell of burning tires hung in the air as father of four Ziad Dmeidi on Wednesday surveyed the damage to his home which was set ablaze by a group of Jewish settlers that stormed this small West Bank town last weekend. “We’re just glad to be alive,” he said. The attack by the settlers—which left one Palestinian dead and 390 injured, according to Palestinian health officials—was part of an escalating wave of tit-for-tat violence in the West Bank as a new, right-wing Israeli government moves to expand Israeli settlements and continue a prolonged counterterrorism campaign that began last spring.

[1/3] The logo for Goldman Sachs is seen on the trading floor at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, New York, U.S., November 17, 2021. The investment bank will outline the path to profit for its Platform Solutions unit, which houses Goldman's transaction banking, credit card and financial technology businesses, it said. It is also considering "strategic alternatives" for its consumer platforms, Solomon said, without specifying what those options would be. Chief Executive David Solomon's performance and his plans for growth will also be scrutinized by investors and analysts. Observers will focus on his plans to decrease Goldman's reliance on trading and investment banking, which can be whipsawed by market volatility.

☆ Vast Refugee Camp in Kenya Swells as Drought Hits Somalia
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-11 | by ( Michael M. Phillips | Photographs Natalia Jidovanu For The Wall Street Journal | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

DADAAB REFUGEE COMPLEX, Kenya—Magan Noor Abdi was 17 with three children the first time she fled Somalia. It was 2010, and famine was coming. The second time was a decade later. Al-Shabaab militants infiltrating her hometown had beaten her husband so badly that he couldn’t support a family that had grown to eight children.

Bed Bath said it was planning to raise just over $1 billion through sales of preferred stock and warrants and from securities when the warrants are exercised. Bed Bath will receive a waiver on its recent bank default should the proposed offering succeed, the company said. Bed Bath & Beyond also appointed Holly Etlin, a bankruptcy expert, as interim chief financial officer. "It’s a similar situation in which a deeply financially distressed company is attempting to sell securities," said Lynn LoPucki, a professor at the University of Florida. Sources have told Reuters that Bed Bath & Beyond has lined up liquidators to close additional stores unless a last-minute buyer emerges.

☆ Bed Bath & Beyond moves to raise $1 bln as bankruptcy clouds loom
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( Noor Zainab Hussain | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Feb 6 (Reuters) - Bed Bath & Beyond Inc (BBBY.O) said on Monday it was planning to raise some $1 billion through an offering of preferred stock and warrants, in a last-ditch effort to stave off bankruptcy. Bed Bath said it was planning to raise about $225 million through an offering of Series A convertible preferred stock and an additional $800 million by issuing securities to buy shares of preferred stock in future installments. Bed Bath will receive a waiver on its recent bank default should the proposed offering succeed, the company said. On Monday, Bed Bath said it planned to close an additional 150 stores, on top of 250 previously announced store closures. Sources have told Reuters that Bed Bath & Beyond has lined up liquidators to close additional stores unless a last-minute buyer emerges.

☆ Insurer Travelers profit falls on winter storm costs
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Jan 24 (Reuters) - Property and casualty insurer Travelers Companies Inc (TRV.N) reported a 37% fall in quarterly profit on Tuesday, hurt by losses related to a winter storm that swept across the United States and Canada in the last week of 2022. The winter storm pushed up the insurer's catastrophe losses net of reinsurance to $459 million from $36 million last year. A dangerously frigid Arctic air mass gripped a vast expanse of the United States in late December, bringing floods, power outages, mudslides, evacuations and road closures. Travelers' profit was also hit by a fall in net investment income to $625 million from $743 million a year earlier. A ratio below 100% means the insurer earned more in premiums than it paid out in claims.

Rising interest rates roiled markets last year and global investment banking revenue sank more than 50% from a year-earlier quarter, according to data from analytics firm Dealogic. SHARPLY LOWERAcross the board, investment banking fees were sharply lower. Morgan Stanley's revenue from investment banking business fell 49% in the fourth quarter while Goldman Sachs's investment banking fees fell 48%. JPMorgan's investment banking unit saw its revenue down 57%, Citigroup Inc's (C.N) investment banking revenue plunged 58% while Bank of America Corp (BAC.N) investment banking fees more than halved. Strength in trading helped offset a slump in investment banking, while interest rate hikes by the U.S. Federal Reserve helped income.

"The consumers are spending, their wages are growing and frankly, there's still a lot of stimulus ... Social Security payments are going up at a high rate," Moynihan told Reuters. "Things like that are going to add more fuel that they can use to spend," he added. Moynihan said that for the first time in a long time deposits had come down a little bit for the industry. (For daily Davos updates in your inbox sign up for the Reuters Daily Briefing here.) Reporting by Lananh Nguyen in Davos and Noor Zainab Hussain in Bengaluru Additional reporting by Niket Nishant Editing by Mark PotterOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Jan 17 (Reuters) - Goldman Sachs Group Inc (GS.N) on Tuesday reported a bigger-than-expected 69% drop in fourth-quarter profit as it struggled with a slump in dealmaking and weakness in its wealth management business. Goldman is also curbing its consumer banking ambitions as Chief Executive Officer David Solomon refocuses the bank's resources to strengthen its core businesses such as investment banking and trading. Goldman's investment banking fees fell 48% in the latest quarter, while revenue from its asset and wealth management unit dropped 27% due to lower revenue from equity and debt investments. The bank reported a profit of $1.19 billion, or $3.32 per share, for the three months ended Dec. 31, missing the Street estimate of $5.48, according to Refinitiv IBES data. Fixed income, currency and commodities trading revenue was up 44%, while revenue from equities trading fell 5%.

☆ Wells Fargo profit falls 50% on higher reserves, costs
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Jan 13 (Reuters) - Wells Fargo & Co (WFC.N) on Friday reported a 50% decline in profit for the fourth quarter as the bank racked up more than $3 billion in costs related to a fake accounts scandal and boosted loan loss reserves for a potential economic slowdown. Provision for credit losses were $957 million in the quarter, compared with a $452 million release a year earlier. Provision for credit losses in the quarter included a $397 million increase in the allowance for credit losses primarily reflecting loan growth, as well as a less favorable economic environment, the bank said. Higher borrowing costs have also softened demand for mortgages and car loans, crimping banks' revenues. As part of his turnaround plan, Scharf aims to cut costs, scale back Wells Fargo's huge mortgage business and expand its investment banking business.

☆ Wall Street banks stockpile funds for possible recession, show resilience
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

REUTERS/Jeenah Moon/File Photo/File PhotoNEW YORK, Jan 13 (Reuters) - Wall Street's biggest banks stockpiled more rainy-day funds to prepare for a possible recession ahead and reported weak investment banking results, but said consumers remained healthy and higher rates boosted profits. Strength in trading helped offset a slump in investment banking, while interest rate hikes by the U.S. Federal Reserve helped income. However, Citigroup Inc (C.N) reported a 21% fall in profits with investment banking taking a hit. Global investment banking revenue sank to $15.3 billion in the fourth quarter, down more than 50% from a year-earlier quarter, according to data from Dealogic. Bank of America's investment banking fees more than halved in the quarter.

☆ Iran top court accepts protester's appeal against death sentence
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

"The Supreme Court has accepted the appeal of Sahand Noor Mohammadzadeh, one of the accused in the recent riots. It said 66 members of the security forces had also been killed. Iranian officials have said that up to 300 people, including members of the security forces, have lost their lives. Last week, the Supreme Court accepted the death sentence appeal of rapper Saman Seydi Yasin but confirmed the same sentence against protester Mohammad Qobadloo. Earlier this month it suspended the death sentence of protester Mahan Sadrat, who had been charged with various alleged offences including stabbing a security officer and setting fire to a motorcycle.

Like many residents, he's been on a spree - because on Jan. 1 Singapore's sales tax goes up for the first time in 15 years. From next year, the sales tax on everything from groceries to diamond rings goes from 7% to 8%. By buying everything now before the hike, Soif said he's saving S$250 ($185) on his purchases, now in storage at retailers' facilities. The upbeat spending comes against a backdrop of concern, and some opposition, among the population about the tax hike. It has also said it would review the second step of the tax hike if there was a major global downturn next year.

☆ Exclusive: Afghan government officials helped smugglers sneak almost $1 billion in cash and gold out of Afghanistan as the US-backed government neared collapse, documents show
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( Mattathias Schwartz | Edris Lutfi | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

The office of Ashraf Ghani, the US-backed Afghan president, had been informed about the problem, insiders say. The smuggling flouted Afghan laws requiring travelers to declare cash or gold worth $10,000 or more and a strict ban on exporting $20,000 or more. The documents identify the two men as being part of the 2021 smuggling ring; they do not allege who was behind the $824 million smuggled in 2019 and 2020. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani meets with President Joe Biden in June 2021. The UAE is also the home of Ghani and Noor, the former provincial governor with alleged ties to the Hairatan smuggling ring.

Insurers were already reluctant to underwrite asset and directors and officers (D&O) protection policies for crypto companies because of scant market regulation and the volatile prices of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Specialists in the Lloyd's of London (SOLYD.UL) and Bermuda insurance markets are requiring more transparency from crypto companies about their exposure to FTX. Exclusions may act as a failsafe for insurers, and will make it even more difficult for companies that are seeking coverage, insurers and brokers said. Crypto firms with financial exposure to FTX include Binance, a crypto exchange, and Genesis, a crypto lender, neither of which responded to e-mails seeking comment. The FTX collapse will also likely lead to a rise in insurance rates, especially in the U.S. D&O market, insurers said.

☆ Goldman Sachs to cut thousands of employees
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

NEW YORK, Dec 16 (Reuters) - Goldman Sachs Group Inc (GS.N) is planning to cut a couple of thousand employees to navigate a difficult economic environment, a source familiar with the move said. The Wall Street bank had 49,100 employees at the end of the third quarter this year, after adding significant numbers of staff during the pandemic. Headcount will remain above pre-pandemic levels, which stood at 38,300 at the end of 2019, the source said. News platform Semafor earlier reported on Friday that Goldman Sachs Group will lay off up to 4,000 people as the Wall Street bank struggles to meet profitability targets, citing people familiar with the matter. Goldman Sachs declined to comment.

☆ FTX debtors file bidding procedures motion for sale of four businesses
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( Industry Insight | Saw Law Firms Move Past The Pandemic Into A More Client-Focused Service Environment | Thomson Reuters Institute | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Companies FTX Japan KK FollowDec 16 (Reuters) - FTX and its affiliated debtors said on Friday the company had filed a motion with the Bankruptcy Court seeking approval of bidding procedures to sell four businesses. Debtors of the bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange intend to conduct auctions for Embed, LedgerX, FTX Japan and FTX Europe businesses, according to the statement. The move comes after FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried was arrested on fraud charges on Monday. FTX filed for bankruptcy protection in Delaware in November after traders pulled $6 billion from the platform in three days and rival exchange Binance abandoned a rescue deal. Reporting by Noor Zainab Hussain and Mehnaz Yasmin in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra EluriOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

The layoffs are the latest sign that cuts are accelerating across Wall Street as dealmaking dries up. Goldman Sachs had 49,100 employees at the end of the third quarter after adding significant numbers of staff during the pandemic. The bank is weighing a sharp cut to the annual bonus pool this year, a separate source familiar with the matter said. Goldman Sachs declined to comment. The investment bank had first warned in July that it might slow hiring and cut expenses.

☆ Donetsk: Ukraine launches 'most massive strike' on occupied region since 2014, Russia-installed mayor says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Olga Voitovych Anna Chernova Zahid Mahmood Josh Pennington Sana Noor Haq | Olga Voitovych | Anna Chernova | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

“At exactly 7 a.m. the (Ukrainians) subjected the center of Donetsk (city) to the most massive strike since 2014,” the Moscow-appointed mayor, Aleksey Kulemzin, posted on Telegram. “Forty rockets from BM-21 ‘Grad’ MLRS were fired at civilians in our city,” he said Thursday, adding that a key intersection in Donetsk city center had come under fire. A firefighter works inside a destroyed apartment of a residential building hit by shelling in Donetsk on December 15. Men insert wooden boards in the window of a bank next to the building of the State Administration of Kherson after a rocket attack in Kherson city on Wednesday. “And these realities indicate that the Russian Federation has new subjects,” he said, referring to four areas Russia has claimed to have annexed, Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia.

This video still shows a "Yars" ballistic missile loaded into a silo launcher in the Kaluga region. (Russian Defense Ministry)In a further sign of the importance it attaches to its strategic nuclear deterrent, the Russian military has loaded a "Yars" ballistic missile into a silo launcher in the Kaluga region. The Ministry of Defense released video to mark the event, just ahead of Russia's "Day of Strategic Missile Forces." It said that an "intercontinental ballistic missile of the Yars complex was loaded into a silo launcher at the Kozelsky missile formation in the Kaluga region." (Russian Defense Ministry)"The importance of this operation lies in the fact that the missile will be on combat duty as planned.

But they fear a harsh new anti-gay law passed by Russian lawmakers will leave them little choice. As the Kremlin prepared to finalize the expansion of the 2013 discriminatory anti-gay law, members of the LGBTQ community in Russia told CNN they feared the uncertain future ahead. Activists say a new legislative package that beefs up an existing anti-gay law is a threat to LGBTQ people in Russia. And it’s just reducing the space within which a non-heterosexual existence can comfortably take place in Russia,” Healey told CNN. Yulia Alyoshina, Russia's first transgender politician, said the new law was discriminatory and would make life tougher for Russia's LGBTQ community.

☆ Six Pakistanis, one Afghan soldier killed in cross-border clash
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-11 | by ( Gul Yousafzai | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

QUETTA, Pakistan, Dec 11 (Reuters) - Six Pakistani civilians and one Afghan soldier were killed on Sunday in cross border shelling and gunfire, according to officials on both sides of the frontier. Six civilians were killed and another 17 wounded on the Pakistani side by the Afghan fire, leading Pakistani troops to retaliate, the Pakistan military said in a statement. Afghan security sources said the clash started after Pakistani forces demanded Afghan forces stop building a new checkpost on their side of the border. Kandahar police spokesman Hafiz Saber said one Afghan soldier was killed and 10 other people, including three civilians, were injured. The busy Afghan border crossing at Chaman, used for trade and transit, was closed for some hours before reopening, officials on both sides said.

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