Archive for Private Equity
Trump Backs Softer Restrictions on Chinese Investment
Posted by: | CommentsWASHINGTON — The Trump administration has backed off a plan to impose aggressive new restrictions on Chinese investment in the United States, opting instead to support a congressional effort that would expand the types of foreign deals that are subject to review.
President Trump said Wednesday that he supported a bipartisan push in Congress to broaden the authority of a government body that reviews foreign investments for security threats. The legislation would give the United States power to squelch a wider variety of investments from China, including minority stakes in American firms, joint ventures, and real estate transactions near military bases or other national security facilities…
Trump Penthouse in NYC Vacated by Saudi Royal Gets 29% Price Cut
Posted by: | CommentsOne of President Donald Trump’s Park Avenue penthouses is on the market for $28.5 million, almost a third less than it was listed for five years ago.
The apartment, more than 7,000 square feet (650 square meters) spanning the 21st floor of 502 Park Ave., or Trump Park Avenue, has seven bedrooms and eight full bathrooms, according to a revised listing Wednesday on property website StreetEasy. It was listed for $40 million in 2013 before being pulled off the market, the site shows…
Trump Penthouse in NYC Vacated by Saudi Royal Gets 29% Price Cut
Harvard Billionaires Bail Out Alma Mater From Poor Fund Returns
Posted by: | CommentsThe university’s endowment returns may lag the Ivy League average, but Wall Street’s elite make the school a fundraising powerhouse.
Three years ago, hedge fund billionaire John Paulson offered his alma mater, Harvard Business School, an enormous gift. Nitin Nohria, the school’s dean, responded in a way that would shock most other charitable organizations: Thanks, but we don’t need it. Instead, Nohria suggested that Paulson direct the money toward Harvard’s engineering school, according to people familiar with the exchange. So, in 2015, Paulson did just that, giving $400 million, a gift the university called its largest ever…
Europe Gets Another Giant VC Fund to Keep U.S. Investors at Bay
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Plans to target “growth stage” tech companies in Europe
- New fund is 40 percent larger than last one Highland raised
The venture capital firm that’s backed cyber-security startup Malwarebytes Inc. and file-hosting service WeTransfer has raised a 463 million-euro ($541 million) fund to invest in “growth-stage” European technology companies.
London-based Highland Europe has previously also invested in video-game developers, e-commerce platforms, and companies producing software for industrial businesses…
Europe Gets Another Giant VC Fund to Keep U.S. Investors at Bay
Edison Wants to Spend $760 Million on EV Charging in California
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Southern California Edison files request with state reglators
- California governor wants 5 million zero-emission cars by 2030
Edison International’s Southern California Edison utility is looking to spend another $760.1 million on expanding electric car-charging networks as the state works to get more emissions-free vehicles on the road.
Edison said Tuesday that it had filed a plan with state regulators to support the installation of 48,000 charging ports over four years. SoCalEd already won $343 million from regulators to help build out the networks necessary to charge medium- and heavy-duty electric vehicles…
Edison Wants to Spend $760 Million on EV Charging in California
McKesson Reduces CEO’s Pay 10% Following Revolt by Investors
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Firm’s pay plan received support of about 1-in-4 shareholders
- Risks tied to opioid distribution considered in pay design
McKesson Corp. cut Chief Executive Officer John Hammergren’s pay by about 10 percent following a shareholder revolt spurred by claims about the health-care firm’s alleged role in the nation’s opioid crisis.
The International Brotherhood of Teamsters led a vote-no campaign in 2017 against the firm’s executive pay plan after accusing the drug distributor of aggravating the opioid epidemic. Last year’s pay package received 26.6 percent support, the second-lowest to date and among the worst of S&P 500 companies…
Blackstone Nears First Close of $5 Billion for Infrastructure Fund
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First close of planned $40 billion pool is among largest ever
- Alternative investment firm sees big potential in the sector
Thirteen months after unveiling a gigantic pledge from Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, Blackstone Group LP is nearing a first close of $5 billion for its inaugural infrastructure fund, according to people familiar with the matter.
The fundraising, expected to be finalized this week, is slightly behind schedule but will mark the biggest initial close for a first-time fund across any alternative investment strategy after SoftBank’s $100 billion Vision Fund and the China Structural Reform Fund, according to Preqin. The data exclude funds with a single close…
It’s Billionaires at the Gate as Ultra-Rich Muscle In on Private Equity
Posted by: | CommentsIn an era of hyper-affluence, JPMorgan and Credit Suisse cater to a super-exclusive class.
America’s last Gilded Age had its “List of 400”: the people said to be worthy enough, or at least rich enough, to climb the pinnacles of high society.
Today, in an age of affluence not even the Astors and Vanderbilts might have imagined, there is something closer to a List of 55…
It’s Billionaires at the Gate as Ultra-Rich Muscle In on Private Equity
Billionaire Cheng Bolsters Aviation Assets With Leasing Purchase
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Cheng’s Goshawk to buy Dublin-based Sky Leasing from investors
- Boom in global air travel fueling demand for leased planes
Hong Kong’s billionaire Cheng family, best known for its Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Group, is expanding its aviation business with the purchase of an aircraft leasing firm in Ireland.
Goshawk Aviation Ltd., owned by Chow Tai Fook Enterprises Ltd. and NWS Holdings Ltd., agreed to buy a unit of Sky Aviation Leasing International L.P. that has grown into a $3 billion business, according to a June 21 statement from investment groups selling the asset. The deal, whose value wasn’t disclosed, is subject to regulatory approvals and set to close in the third quarter…
Activist Investors Raise Sights in Europe With U.K. Prime Target
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Shareholder ‘wolf packs’ pooling together: Alvarez & Marsal
- Its research suggests activists are targeting bigger companies
Activist investors are targeting bigger companies in Europe with those in the U.K. most at risk of intervention and more shareholders teaming up to force change, according to Alvarez & Marsal Inc.
The average market capitalization of a predicted target company has risen to $17.6 billion from $16.5 billion in a September report, the restructuring consultant said after analyzing 1,715 firms. The 6.7 percent increase compares with a gain of just 1.3 percent for the U.K. FTSE All Share Index over the same period, A&M said…
U.S. Plans Curbs on Chinese Investment, Citing Security Risks
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Tough stance said to have reluctant support from Mnuchin
- Possible approach would be two-track CFIUS review process
The Treasury Department is planning to heighten scrutiny of Chinese investments in sensitive U.S. industries under an emergency law, putting Washington’s trade war with Beijing on a potentially irreversible course.
Under the plan, the White House would use one of the most significant legal measures available to declare China’s investment in U.S. companies involved in technologies such as new-energy vehicles, robotics and aerospace a threat to economic and national security, according to eight people familiar with the plans…
The Supreme Court’s decision on Thursday to give states broader authority to collect taxes on e-commerce sales — even if the retailers have no presence in those jurisdictions — knocked the stock prices of many prominent online sellers.
Yet it had a relatively muted effect on the biggest one, Amazon.
Shortly after the 5-4 decision in the case, Quill Corporation v. North Dakota, was released, shares of online retailers fell. Here’s where they were trading on Thursday:
Private Equity Giants Take On Congress With Billions on the Line
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Legislation would increase scrutiny of foreign investment
- Funds attracted record amounts, much of it from overseas
U.S. private equity firms are raising record amounts of money in the global market. Congress could derail their gravy train.
In the name of national security, lawmakers are debating a bill that would tighten scrutiny of investments from other countries. An industry group that includes Blackstone Group LP, Apollo Global Management LLC and Carlyle Group LP is turning up the heat on Capitol Hill to minimize any possible damage…
Private Equity Giants Take On Congress With Billions on the Line
Clinton Son-In-Law Running Out Of Financial Industries To Try
Posted by: | CommentsMarc Mezvinsky, whose children’s grandparents have won the popular vote in U.S. presidential elections three times, is something of a Wall Street seeker. Like many sons of two congresspeople who major in religious studies and philosophy at Stanford, he tried the banking thing out for a while. But eight years at Goldman Sachs has a way of wearing on a guy, and so he decided to give the private equity thing a try. After marrying the daughter of a former president and then-current Secretary of State and future president, however, Mezvinsky decided to strike out on his own in yet another new field, hedge funds. That didn’t take, either, mostly because he and his partners lost most of their investors’ money, and that West Wing office he had his eye on went to Jared Kushner. So after a few months on the couch with the kids, Mezvinsky chose to reinvent himself one more as a venture capitalist, joining Social Capital as vice chairman, where he would be charged with making Social look less like a VC shop…
Wells Fargo Wealth Management Businesses Bank’s Latest Gut Renovations
Posted by: | CommentsFrom its now-famously disastrous community banking business to its almost equally-embroiled-in-scandal consumer lending business to its don’t-forget-us-we-can-fuck-up-too investment bank, there’s nary a corner of the sprawling and crumbling edifice that is Wells Fargo that hasn’t been brought low or done something to merit a Congressional hearing. As of March, that includes its two high-net-worth brokerage units, Wealth Brokerage Services and Private Client Group. But, Tim Sloan & co. wonder, why have two businesses making potentially improper investment advice when one would suffice?…
Wells Fargo Wealth Management Businesses Bank’s Latest Gut Renovations
Perry Ellis Agrees to Go Private After Bid From Former Executive Chairman
Posted by: | CommentsEntity controlled by George Feldenkreis will acquire shares for $27.50 each; deal valued at $437 million
Perry Ellis International Inc. agreed to go private in a deal valued at $437 million, four months after George Feldenkreis, the founder and former executive chairman, made a bid for the apparel company.
A newly formed entity controlled by Mr. Feldenkreis will acquire the Perry Ellis shares for $27.50 each. The offer represents a premium of 21.6% to the company’s share price Feb. 5, the last day before the proposal from Mr. Feldenkreis…
Perry Ellis Agrees to Go Private After Bid From Former Executive Chairman
Carlyle Raises $6.55 Billion for Fifth Asia Buyout Fund
Posted by: | CommentsNew fund would target technology, consumer and other sectors across Asia-Pacific
U.S. private-equity firm Carlyle Group LP raised $6.55 billion for a new fund aimed at investing across the Asia-Pacific region in technology, consumer and other sectors, many of which are powered by a quickly ascendant middle class.
The Washington firm has closed its fifth Asia buyout fund, which surpassed its target of $5 billion, said X.D. Yang, chairman of Carlyle Asia ex-Japan and co-head of Asia buyout, in an interview. The fund is 68% larger than the firm’s fourth buyout fund, which closed in 2014 at $3.9 billion. That…
Boeing Lands $6.6 Billion FedEx Deal
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Package-delivery company will add 12 767s and 12 777s
- New aircraft orders are meant to modernize aging cargo fleet
Boeing Co. landed a deal for 24 cargo aircraft from FedEx Corp. worth $6.6 billion as the revival in the air freight market continues to grow.
The package-hauler plans to add 12 of Boeing’s medium-size 767 freighters and 12 of the larger 777 cargo aircraft to its order book, the Chicago-based planemaker said in a statement Tuesday. FedEx is already the largest customer for both aircraft models…
Stocks Pare Their Losses as Trade Tensions Simmer: Market Wrap
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Trump orders fresh tariffs on Chinese goods; China hits back
- Euro weakens with pound as dollar rallies along with yen
U.S. stocks fell, though major indexes traded well off session lows as a flare up in trade tensions eased to a simmer. Treasuries rose with the dollar.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average notched a sixth straight loss in its longest slump in more than a year, and the S&P 500 equaled its biggest drop in three weeks. The declines came after steep losses in Asia and Europe sparked by renewed concern the U.S. and China are headed for a full-blown trade war. Neither side escalated attacks Tuesday after President Donald Trump threatened fresh tariffs and China promised to retaliate in kind…
Billionaire Howard Marks Thinks the Future of Investing Contains Fewer People
Posted by: | CommentsBillionaire Howard Marks said the rise of index funds and computer-driven trading are reducing the role of people in the markets but creating room for a select few money managers to excel.
In a 17-page memo Monday, the co-chairman of investment firm Oaktree Capital Group LLC analyzed the effects of three industry trends: the increased use of passive, quantitative and artificial intelligence strategies in investing. On the first, Marks, 72, sees money continuing to flow into index products including exchange-traded funds. That has benefits such as reduced fees, trading costs and errors for investors, but a few active managers will outperform and remain in demand, he wrote…
Emerging Asia Hit by Biggest Foreign Investor Exodus Since 2008
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Stock fund outflows so far this year only exceeded by 2008
- Philippine, Thai central banks will meet this week on policy
A falling tide lowers all boats, it seems. Amid an exodus from emerging markets, investors are pulling out of even Asian economies with solid prospects for growth and debt financing.
Overseas funds are pulling out of six major Asian emerging equity markets at a pace unseen since the global financial crisis of 2008 — withdrawing $19 billion from India, Indonesia, the Philippines, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand so far this year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg…
Google’s JD.com Deal Shows Silicon Valley Still Wants In on China
Posted by: | CommentsFor Google, a half a billion dollars is a drop in the bucket. But that money could have an outsize impact on the American tech giant’s ability to re-enter China.
Google said Monday that it would invest $550 million in JD.com, one of China’s biggest e-commerce companies. The investment was a reminder that China, with all its promise, has been largely closed off to American tech giants, thanks to government censorship and fierce competition from homegrown rivals like Alibaba…
Google’s JD.com Deal Shows Silicon Valley Still Wants In on China
Millionaires Now Own Half of World’s Personal Wealth
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Global wealth reached $201.9 trillion on equities, soft dollar
- Fastest growth in Asia, where fortunes increased 19% last year
The rich are getting a lot richer and doing so a lot faster.
Personal wealth around the globe reached $201.9 trillion last year, a 12 percent gain from 2016 and the strongest annual pace in the past five years, Boston Consulting Group said in a report released Thursday. Booming equity markets swelled fortunes, and investors outside the U.S. got an exchange-rate bonus as most major currencies strengthened against the greenback…
Steep Oil and Strong Dollar Make Toxic Brew for Global Economies
Posted by: | Comments‘Brutal’ rally in dollar-priced crude hammers governments, strains consumers from U.K. to Brazil
For Americans, rising oil prices are threatening $3-a-gallon gasoline and pushing up prices for plane tickets. In many other parts of the world, today’s crude rally is more painful—sparking protests, gas lines and emergency subsidies to quell unrest.
That is because many consumers outside the U.S. face a double whammy when—like now—the dollar gets stronger at the same time that oil prices rise. While petroleum is produced all over the globe, when it is sold to refiners and other buyers it is almost always priced in dollars…
SoftBank Wants to Build the Future. Here Are Some New Bets It Could Make.
Posted by: | CommentsMasayoshi Son, the founder of the Japanese technology giant SoftBank, has seen the future — and he wants to buy a slice of it.
Mr. Son believes that, not long from now, our lives will be dominated by robots, artificial intelligence and other advanced technologies. He wants to invest in the companies that will build that future through his company’s nearly $100 billion Vision Fund…
SoftBank Wants to Build the Future. Here Are Some New Bets It Could Make.
Rising Share Price Strengthens Disney’s Bid for Fox Assets
Posted by: | CommentsShares in Disney, which agreed on its deal with Fox in December, rose more than 2 percent in New York on Thursday, to about $108.75.
Rising Share Price Strengthens Disney’s Bid for Fox Assets
AT&T Wins Approval for $85.4 Billion Time Warner Deal in Defeat for Justice Dept.
Posted by: | CommentsWASHINGTON — A federal judge on Tuesday approved the blockbuster merger between AT&T and Time Warner, rebuffing the government’s effort to stop the $85.4 billion deal, in a decision that is expected to unleash a wave of corporate takeovers.
The judge, Richard J. Leon of United States District Court in Washington, said the Justice Department had not proved that the telecom company’s acquisition of Time Warner would lead to fewer choices for consumers and higher prices for television and internet services…
AT&T Wins Approval for $85.4 Billion Time Warner Deal in Defeat for Justice Dept.
Argentina Got a $50 Billion Loan and Peso Is in Free Fall Anyway
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Argentine peso extends losses as central bank keeps mum
- Macri may be challenged to reach IMF’s fiscal targets
Argentina is struggling to stop the peso’s plunge just a week after obtaining the biggest loan in the history of the International Monetary Fund.
Traders are desperate for policy makers to lay out a strategy to curb the volatility, and complain that all they’re getting in response is disjointed and unpredictable policy. The rout deepened Thursday as the currency tumbled more than 6 percent against the dollar to a record low, extending its decline since the end of April to almost 27 percent…
Yankees Consider Buying Back YES If Fox Sells Assets
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Clause gives baseball team a buyback option in event of sale
- Comcast bid $65 billion for Fox’s assets, including YES
The New York Yankees are considering buying back the YES Network, according to a person familiar with the matter.
The Yankees ceded control of the regional sports network four years ago to Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox Inc., which increased its stake to 80 percent from 49 percent. That agreement included a clause that gives the baseball team the right to buy back the network in the event Fox puts it up for sale, said the person, who asked to be anonymous because the deal terms are private…
Tesla Is Coming to Its Financial Senses. That Has Its Own Risks.
Posted by: | CommentsGet the DealBook newsletter to make sense of major business and policy headlines — and the power-brokers who shape them.
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Tesla, the electric car company defined by the moonshot mentality of its chief executive, Elon Musk, has started to act with apparent caution.
Out of a desire to show some profits, Tesla said on Tuesday it was laying off around 9 percent of its work force. The announcement came a month after Tesla said it was reducing its forecasts for capital expenditures, a move that would conserve some cash…
Tesla Is Coming to Its Financial Senses. That Has Its Own Risks.
Vietnam Must Tread Carefully to Win Investment Grade, Fitch Says
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Rating company expects central bank to tighten in near term
- Economic growth accelerated to 7.4% in first quarter
Vietnam mustn’t sacrifice stability for high-speed growth if it’s to become an investment-grade economy, warned Fitch Ratings.
The rating company wants evidence that macroeconomic stability is more entrenched before considering further upgrades for Vietnam, said Stephen Schwartz, head of sovereign ratings in Asia Pacific for Fitch, which last month lifted the nation’s credit score to BB. Fitch is also monitoring efforts to address the economy’s structural weaknesses, including the reform of state-owned enterprises and management of non-performing loans…
Musk Bets Tesla Rally Has Legs With $24.9 Million Stock Purchase
Posted by: | CommentsThink the run-up in Tesla Inc. shares is about done? Elon Musk doesn’t seem to think so.
The CEO shelled out $24.9 million to buy 72,500 more shares on Tuesday, according to a regulatory filing. The purchase followed a roughly 13 percent jump for the stock since its chief executive bought $9.85 million worth of shares on May 7…
Musk Bets Tesla Rally Has Legs With $24.9 Million Stock Purchase
Billionaire-Backed Fidelio Is Looking for More After 900% Return
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Firm’s return on sale of AniCura stake was more than 10-fold
- Fidelio has no time limit, no short-term return requirements
Swedish investment firm Fidelio Capital just scored a more than 10-fold return when it sold its stake in AniCura after seven years of careful nurturing of the animal hospitals and clinics provider.
Backed by funding from Katarina Martinson, the daughter of Swedish billionaire investor and Industrivarden AB Chairman Fredrik Lundberg, Fidelio makes investments with a longer-term outlook than traditional private equity firms, according to Founder and Chief Executive Officer Gabriel Fitzgerald. While private-equity firms typically have an investment horizon of 5-10 years, Fidelio has no time constraints…
Powell Solves Some Fed Policy Mysteries, Plot Thickens on Others
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From jobs to dots, Powell offered new details on key ideas
- The Fed chair made clear that some big questions are mysteries
Jerome Powell gave Federal Reserve-watchers some meaningful answers on Wednesday. He also left them scratching their heads over ever-bigger questions.
The Federal Open Market Committee closed out its June meeting by raising interest rates and suggesting it’ll hike twice more this year, and the Fed chairman announced that he’ll soon start giving press conferences every — rather than every other — policy meeting…
Powell Solves Some Fed Policy Mysteries, Plot Thickens on Others
Powell Lauds Economy as Fed Nudges Up Interest-Rate Hike Path
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Unemployment falling, inflation rising faster than projected
- Powell announces press conferences after every FOMC meeting
Federal Reserve officials raised interest rates for the second time this year and upgraded their forecast to four total increases in 2018, as unemployment falls and inflation overshoots their target faster than previously projected.
The so-called “dot plot” released Wednesday showed eight Fed policy makers expected four or more quarter-point rate increases for the full year, compared with seven officials during the previous forecast round in March. The number viewing three or fewer hikes as appropriate fell to seven from eight. The median estimate implied three increases in 2019 to put the rate above the level where officials see policy neither stimulating nor restraining the economy…
As a Trade War With China Looms, the Fed’s Powell Did Not Sound Worried
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Jerome H. Powell, the chairman of the Federal Reserve, made comments on Wednesday that are likely to go down well with supporters of President Trump’s increasingly belligerent trade policies…
As a Trade War With China Looms, the Fed’s Powell Did Not Sound Worried
Disney Under Gun to Respond After Comcast’s $65 Billion Fox Bid
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Cable giant took step after AT&T got clearance for Time Warner
- Disney under pressure to improve its $52.4 billion offer
Your move, Disney.
After Comcast Corp. made a $65 billion bid on Wednesday for 21st Century Fox Inc.’s entertainment assets — the same holdings that Walt Disney Co. had agreed to buy for about $52.4 billion — the Mouse House is under pressure to respond…
Disney Under Gun to Respond After Comcast’s $65 Billion Fox Bid
Stocks and Precious Metals Charts – On the Sunni Side of the Street
Posted by: | Comments“U.S. support for the Sunni camp was made clear by the fact that Trump made Riyadh his first foreign stop as president, by his willingness to sell the Saudis $110 billion in military equipment, and by his repeated criticisms of Iran during his speech. Why the United States would want to tilt toward either side in the Sunni-Shiite divide is mystifying.
These two sects have been at odds for centuries, with no signs of a detente. The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, the world’s most dangerous terrorist organization, is Sunni. The same goes for al-Qaeda, the group founded by Osama bin Laden that brought down the World Trade Center on 9/11.”…
Asian Stocks Head for the Best Week Since February: Markets Wrap
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S&P 500 closes up 0.9% as U.S. CPI below estimates; oil steady
- 10-year Treasury yield back below 3%; pound declines
Asian stocks rallied after their U.S. counterparts gained amid relief the latest reading on American inflation suggested less need for the Federal Reserve to accelerate monetary tightening. The dollar steadied after dropping the most since March.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index is heading for its best week since February thanks to easing investor concerns that higher U.S. yields and a stronger dollar would spur broad contagion. Equity benchmarks advanced across most of the region, with Japan’s Topix heading for its highest close in 10 weeks. Malaysian assets trading offshore began to stabilize after the shock election win for the opposition. Ten-year Treasury yields held below 3 percent…
JPMorgan Applies for China Venture Control After Dimon Visit
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U.S. bank seeks 51% stake as CEO Dimon aims for full control
- UBS, Nomura submitted similar applications in recent weeks
JPMorgan Brokering (Hong Kong) Ltd. is seeking permission to take a 51 percent stake in a local entity, China Securities Regulatory Commission spokeswoman Gao Li said in a statement late Thursday. The regulator will review the application “efficiently” in accordance with the law and regulations, the statement said…
How Walmart, the Big Seller, Is Shopping for a Fight With Amazon
Posted by: | CommentsSam Walton, who opened the first Walmart store in Rogers, Ark., in 1962, considered himself a natural merchant. “I could sell,’’ he once wrote.
Now the giant retailer he created must prove that it can also successfully buy.
Walmart on Wednesday announced a $16 billion deal to purchase 77 percent of the Indian e-commerce service Flipkart as part of its strategy to capture a piece of a fast-growing and increasingly tech-savvy market. The Flipkart deal, one of the largest and riskiest in Walmart’s history, follows a pattern of purchases over the past 18 months that includes a men’s clothing brand and a delivery start-up…
Axa Equitable Raises $2.75 Billion in Biggest 2018 U.S. IPO
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Insurer’s shares price at $20, short of $24-$27 range
- Offering still tops Pagseguro Digital, iQiyi listings
Axa Equitable Holdings Inc., encompassing the American operations for French insurance giant Axa SA, fell almost $1 billion short of its targeted share sale in what was still the biggest U.S. initial public offering of the year.
Axa Equitable Holdings raised $2.75 billion, selling 137.25 million shares for $20 each. That was short of its targeted range of $24 to $27 apiece. The proceeds from the listing will help its French parent company fund its biggest-ever acquisition: a $15.3 billion takeover of XL Group Ltd.
Eric Schneiderman’s Legacy in Financial Cases May Survive His Downfall
Posted by: | CommentsThe job of New York attorney general over the past two decades has proved to be a launching pad for aspiring politicians who used their legal authority to go after Wall Street hucksters, corrupt politicians and real estate scofflaws.
It was a strategy laid out by former Gov. Eliot Spitzer and by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, who had both held the role. And Eric T. Schneiderman showed no reservation in following a similar playbook when he went after the big banks for mortgage abuses and the ride-hailing company Uber for its use of customer data…
Takeda Moves to Join Pharma Giants With $62 Billion Shire Deal
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Japanese drugmaker secures $31 billion bridge loan from banks
- CEO Weber says deal transforms company, giving it global reach
Chief Executive Officer Christophe Weber capped a drawn-out pursuit of the U.K.-listed company with an acquisition he described as transformational that will give Takeda wider reach into the world’s biggest drug market and strengthen its global pipeline for lucrative drugs that treat rare diseases…
Takeda Moves to Join Pharma Giants With $62 Billion Shire Deal
Goldman Sachs Stuck With Burberry Shares After Billionaire Sale
Posted by: | CommentsBillionaire Albert Frere’s Groupe Bruxelles Lambert SA selected Goldman Sachs’s international unit to sell its 6.6 percent stake in Burberry for about 498 million pounds ($673 million). While the investment bank bought the shares at a discount of more than 4 percent to Tuesday’s closing price, the stock fell on the news and dropped as much as 7.8 percent in London. That left the firm holding shares at a paper loss, said the person, who asked not to be identified because the bank’s position isn’t public…
Private Equity Going Public?
Posted by: | CommentsThe fact that more public companies are being acquired by large global private equity firms is neither shocking nor problematic, at least according to the titans of private equity.
It’s hardly surprising that boards of formerly public companies elect to give private equity a chance, said Jonathan Sokoloff, managing partner of Leonard Green & Partners…
Xiaomi Poised to Become a Billionaire Factory With IPO
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At least three co-founders are on brink of 10-figure fortunes
- Chairman Lei Jun may end up as China’s fourth-richest person
Eight years later, Lei Jun and the seven other Xiaomi co-founders have created a company that wants to challenge the global industry dominance of Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co. It’s also targeting an initial public offering that’s expected to be the largest since 2014, and which could create five new billionaires…
Michael Cohen Puts Up Family Apartment Against Bank Debts
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Park Avenue unit is $9 million collateral as taxi loans swoon
- Deal with Sterling National suggests financial pressure
The transaction, outlined in public filings this week, indicates the financial pressure on Cohen is hitting close to home as federal prosecutors delve into a broad range of his business activities, including a hush payment to a porn actress…
Plaza Hotel’s $600 Million Deal May Go Forward With New Buyers
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Ashkenazy, Kingdom Holding are said to exercise option
- Investors Shahal Khan and Kamran Hakim previously struck deal
Ashkenazy and Kingdom have less than two weeks to come up with a deposit and proof of funds for the total or their deal will be canceled, said the person, who asked not to be identified because the details of the deal are private. A cancellation would reinstate the earlier agreement, signed by Shahal Khan and Kamran Hakim, the person said…
As Warren Buffett’s Empire Expands, Many Jobs Disappear
Posted by: | CommentsIf the employees of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. and all its subsidiaries were packed into one city, the population would be about the same as Tampa, Florida.
The inhabitants of this fictional town—call it Buffettville, after the company’s longtime leader, Warren Buffett—would be its own economic microcosm. There’d be airplane pilots, train conductors, garment workers, welders, insurance adjusters, chemists and car salesmen, to name just a few professions. Every year, as the conglomerate buys companies in the real world, more factories and offices would pop up in Buffettville, adding to its population…
As Warren Buffett’s Empire Expands, Many Jobs Disappear
A Private-Market Deal Gone Bad: Sketchy Brokers, Bilked Seniors and a Cosmetologist
Posted by: | CommentsInvestments called private placements are among the fastest growing in finance, outpacing the public stock market. They are frequently populated by brokers with red flags in their record
Ray Kay, who works as a financial adviser in Beverly Hills, Calif., advertised on the radio a purportedly low-risk, high-income investment.
There were a few points Mr. Kay omitted. He used to be called Raymond L. Kotrozo. Under that name, he was barred from the securities industry for allegedly running a fraud, according to public records, and later fined $5,000 for breaking that ban…
A Private-Market Deal Gone Bad: Sketchy Brokers, Bilked Seniors and a Cosmetologist
Who Strikes Fear Into Silicon Valley? Margrethe Vestager, Europe’s Antitrust Enforcer
Posted by: | CommentsCOPENHAGEN — At first blush, Margrethe Vestager’s decision to investigate Apple’s planned acquisition of the music-identification app Shazam seems fairly minor, at least by her standards. As Europe’s competition commissioner, Ms. Vestager is known for aggressively pursuing big cases against Silicon Valley giants, and the Shazam deal is a smallish one, by most estimates valued at far less than $1 billion.
But what interests Ms. Vestager about the transaction is not the amount of money at stake, but the amount of data. In a rapidly expanding information economy, she believes the control of data is a new regulatory frontier…
Mueller Investigation In Jeopardy As “Witch Hunt” Accusations Play Out In Court
Posted by: | CommentsA funny thing happened on the way to impeaching Donald Trump. After two-years of investigations by a highly politicized FBI and a Special Counsel stacked with Clinton supporters, Robert Mueller’s probe has resulted in the resignation of National Security Advisor Michael Flynn, the arrests of Paul Manafort and Rick Gates, and the indictment of 13 Russian nationals on allegations of hacking the 2016 election – along with the raid of Trump’s personal attorney, Michael Cohen.
High Wages Versus High Savings in a Globalized World
Posted by: | CommentsDemocracies will increasingly have to choose between raising wages and redistributing income or maintaining free trade and capital flows. Because they are likely to choose the former, the world may face a long-term reversal of globalization.
Investment-driven growth can broadly occur in the form of one of two models, each with a different way of treating wages and household income. One model, which I will call the high-wage model, incorporates and encourages high wages as the engine behind growth and productivity gains. I will call the other model the high-savings model. In this model, growth seems to be driven mainly by growth in savings, which provides the cheap capital that drives investment, which in turn drives productivity gains…
Xerox Executives Stay Put as Settlement With Carl Icahn Expires
Posted by: | CommentsThe leaders of Xerox, who looked to be on their way out just two days ago, may not be going anywhere just yet.
The embattled office equipment company said late Thursday that a settlement it reached earlier this week with unhappy shareholders would not go into effect because a key deadline had been missed. That settlement had called for the replacement of Jeff Jacobson, the company’s chief executive, and a majority of its board of directors…
Xerox Executives Stay Put as Settlement With Carl Icahn Expires
WTI Tops $70 For First Time Since Nov 2014 As Iran Deal Deadline Looms
Posted by: | CommentsWith the Iran Deal looking increasingly fragile, front-month WTI futures have just traded above $70 for the first time since Nov 2014.
$70 just happens to be the 50% retracement from the Aug 2013 highs to the Feb 2016 lows…
WTI Tops $70 For First Time Since Nov 2014 As Iran Deal Deadline Looms
The nation’s largest bank is also an adorably lame wannabe early adopter dad who “just loves tech” so it came as something less than a surprise to learn that JPMorgan went and pulled ‘An Uber’ in a bold move to bolster it’s machine learning division…
The largest U.S. bank by assets said Thursday that Carnegie Mellon University’s head of machine learning will join JPMorgan in a new role, head of artificial-intelligence research.
In the position, Manuela Veloso, who is also a professor at Carnegie Mellon, will build on the bank’s existing work applying machine learning technology, according to an internal memo reviewed by The Wall Street Journal…
Manhattan Art Dealer Faces Federal Prison Over Investor Scam
Posted by: | Comments-
Ezra Chowaiki pleads guilty to fraud for cheating collectors
- Prosecutors said he duped clients out of millions of dollars
A Manhattan art dealer pleaded guilty to using paintings by Wassily Kandinsky and other renowned artists as bait to defraud collectors and investors out of millions of dollars.
Stocks and Precious Metals Charts – Non-Farm Payrolls Tomorrow – Shopping
Posted by: | CommentsStocks took a big dip lower today, but managed to recover quite a bit of that this afternoon.
There may have been some relief from the lack of screaming headlines from the first day of the US-China trade talks.
Gold and silver gained a bit as the US Dollar gave up some of that short term overbought condition as Noted yesterday.
Tomorrow will be the Non-Farm Payrolls report. The economic calendar with the specific forecasts is included below.
Big Winners From India’s Cash Clampdown Are Private Bankers
Posted by: | Comments-
HDFC Bank to add up to 150 private bankers to 250-strong team
- Advises clients to steer clear of India’s stressed assets
India’s clampdown on unaccounted cash has sent a flood of money into the private banking industry, prompting a major lender to embark on a hiring binge for wealth managers.