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[ad_1] Rivian 'making progress' on the ramp-up in its electric vehicle production-CEO [ad_2] Source link

[ad_1] Prime Minister Narendra Modi presided over a crucial meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) on Thursday to take stock of the crisis triggered by Russia’s military operations in Ukraine. Modi will reportedly speak to Russian President Vladimir Putin on the issue. Defence minister Rajnath Singh, home minister Amit Shah, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman and external affairs minister S Jaishankar were seen in a video of the meeting circulated by government sources. Commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal and petroleum minister Hardeep Singh Puri, who are not part of the CCS, also attended the meeting, as the sectors they oversee can be impacted by the crisis. Their presence suggests the discussions might have gone well beyond the arena of just security or strategic concerns. PK Mishra, the principal secretary to the Prime Minister, and the National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, too, took part in the meeting. It comes on a day when global Brent crude oil jumped over 8% to cross $105 a barrel in intra-day trade, the highest since 2014, as the Russian attack stoked fresh concerns about disruptions in global energy supply. Earlier in the day, an official source indicated that macro-economic impact of the crisis on India could be deliberated upon in the meeting amid the spike in global crude oil prices and slide in stock markets. The discussion could also centre around potential steps to minimise the any spillover effect of the conflict on the Indian economy in particular and consumers in general, he said. If the oil prices continue to surge, the government may be forced to trim fuel taxes to soften the blow to consumers. Putin ignored international condemnation and sanctions and announced the launch of the military strike against Ukraine on Thursday. He also issued warnings to other countries that any attempt by them to meddle in this would lead to consequences that they had “never seen”. [ad_2] Source link

[ad_1] eXp founder and CEO Glenn Sanford Years before Mark Zuckerberg introduced the “Metaverse,” there was eXp, a cloud-based real estate brokerage where executives and agents appear on a computer screen as if they are characters in Second Life or The Sims. On Thursday the cartoon avatars returned. eXp founder and CEO Glenn Sanford reported a profitable year for a brokerage that is quickly growing. Net income at eXp was $81 million for 2021, according to a virtual world earnings call Thursday livestreamed on YouTube. That’s a 162% jump from $31 million in 2020 profit. Revenue increased 110% to $3.8 billion in the year. But that figure includes full home sales commissions, which mostly return to eXp’s independent contractor agents. Once commissions and other related costs are subtracted, total revenue was $296 million. The brokerage is generating more revenue because eXp is briskly hiring agents, and those agents are doing more deals. Agent count increased 72% in 2021 to over 71,000 at December’s end. The count now hovers at 76,000, Sanford said, while boasting 1 in 25 U.S. agents are now at eXp.   eXp agents took part in 444,367 deals in 2021, 86% more than 2020. And eXp reported a year-over-year 116% explosion in transaction volume to $156 billion. eXp has grown both quickly and profitably, Sanford said, unlike other brokerages that are burning through money, a possible reference to Compass. “Of the hypergrowth companies, we’re the only one that’s being consistently profitable,” Sanford said, adding eXp is “running a model that can be sustainable in the long run. We don’t need to raise the money to continue to grow and sustain the brokerage.” The brokerage’s growth, however, has lost its Wall Street sheen. eXp’s stock price and corresponding market capitalization has plummeted more than 200% in the past year, to presently over $3.9 billion. In response to a question about its stock price, an eXp spokesperson replied with a company statement, “We can’t comment on near term volatility in the stock price as it is ultimately determined by external market factors. Management is focused on expanding the business through the company’s primary focus on enhancing its value proposition for agents, which has resulted in increasing market share capture and profit.” The dissonance between financial performance and stock was not addressed on the earnings call. But Sanford did say how the company might diversify beyond sales commissions. Sanford discussed a partnership with Glenn Stearns’ Kind Lending to originate and refinance mortgages, which has now launched in 23 states. This mortgage joint venture – a business plan that has enjoyed a renaissance in popularity among brokerages and lenders the past five years – could attract mortgage talent looking for work amid the refinancing freefall. “We are actually hiring local on the ground loan officers,” Sanford said, adding that “successful LO teams” are being hired in Illinois, Texas and Colorado. Another possible growth opportunity is eXp’s international presence. The brokerage is in over 20 countries, Sanford said, adding there is “a lot of growth” in Israel and South Africa. But eXp has not broken out international revenue. At one moment during the livestream it appeared Sanford might comment on eXp’s puzzling stock performance, only for the feed to cut out. “Anyone got Glenn’s comments on the stock,” a livestream participant calling themselves XM chatted. Participant blayzei shot back, “Stream going down just when should’ve talked about the stock and how it has lost 50% of the last six months or so,” a remark punctuated by a smirking face emoji. Also not addressed is the fracas between eXp and Keller Williams, An Austin, Texas judge issued a restraining order on former Keller Williams CEO Mark Willis joining eXp, because Willis holds shares in three Keller Williams franchises. Meanwhile, eXp has made Willis’s status a cause celebre as Sanford has egged on a “freemarkwillis” Twitter hashtag, and frequently tweeted about the situation. Judge Cleve Doty scheduled a hearing for April on whether to extend the restraining order. Willis has declined to comment on the matter. The post Cloudbusting: eXp more than doubles profits in 2021 appeared first on HousingWire. [ad_2] Source link

[ad_1] Geico and Progressive are two of the most popular insurance companies in operation today, and they both offer a range of useful insurance products. For example, Geico and Progressive offer auto insurance, homeowners insurance, renters insurance, and umbrella insurance. Both companies also offer a range of discounts that can help you save on premiums, and they both make it possible to get a free quote for car insurance online. Still, there are definitely some instances where one of these companies comes out ahead. For example, Geico car insurance rates came in considerably lower than quotes from Progressive across four different driver profiles we compared. Geico also offers more insurance discounts overall, although Progressive offers more types of coverage you can use to tailor your car insurance company to your needs. If you’re in the market for car insurance and considering both Geico and Progressive, you should find out more about their coverage options, discounts, and ratings from third parties. 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Click your state to get matched to a top ranked car insurance provider in your area. HawaiiAlaskaFloridaSouth CarolinaGeorgiaAlabamaNorth CarolinaTennesseeRIRhode IslandCTConnecticutMAMassachusettsMaineNHNew HampshireVTVermontNew YorkNJNew JerseyDEDelawareMDMarylandWest VirginiaOhioMichiganArizonaNevadaUtahColoradoNew MexicoSouth DakotaIowaIndianaIllinoisMinnesotaWisconsinMissouriLouisianaVirginiaDCWashington DCIdahoCaliforniaNorth DakotaWashingtonOregonMontanaWyomingNebraskaKansasOklahomaPennsylvaniaKentuckyMississippiArkansasTexas Get a Free Quote Today Geico Car Insurance Founded in 1936 in Fort Worth, Texas, Geico has been offering various types of insurance since 1936. In terms of their car insurance, they aim to offer affordable rates and world class customer service. Geico also offers a top-rated mobile app and numerous car insurance discounts that can help you save on premiums. When it comes to their car insurance offerings, Geico offers bodily injury coverage, property damage coverage, and uninsured motorist coverage as standard in their policies. Add-ons that can help you customize your car insurance policy include: Collision coverage Comprehensive coverage Medical coverages Emergency roadside assistance Rental reimbursement coverage Mechanical breakdown insurance Rideshare insurance Pros Cons Live chat feature offered on Geico website Limited coverage options More car insurance discounts available Most policies are sold online instead of through an agent Highly-rated mobile app No gap insurance coverage offered Lower average premiums than Progressive Progressive Car Insurance Progressive Insurance was founded in March of 1937, and the company actually got its start as a car insurance company. However, Progressive added more coverage options over the years, and they now offer a range of insurance products geared to homeowners, car owners, and families. Like Geico, Progressive offers some standard insurance coverage options, including bodily injury liability and property damage liability. However, you can also customize your policy with add-ons such as: Comprehensive coverage Collision coverage Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage Medical payments coverage Loan and lease payoff coverage Rental car reimbursement Custom parts and equipment value Rideshare coverage Roadside assistance Read our Progressive Auto Insurance Review for more details. Pros Cons Live chat feature offered on Progressive website More expensive premiums than Geico 24/7 customer service Fewer can insurance discounts than Geico You can work with a local insurance agent Mobile app has mediocre ratings How Do Geico and Progressive Compare? Geico Progressive Year Founded 1936 1937 Geographic Availability Nationwide Nationwide Financial Strength Rating from A.M. Best A++ A+ Customer Service Options Live Chat, phone, email Live Chat, phone, email Car Insurance Discounts 16 13 Website Geico.com Progessive.com Geico vs. Progressive Car Insurance Quotes Price is one of the biggest factors to compare when you’re shopping around for car insurance. After all, you want to make sure you’re getting the best deal, and that you’re paying a fair price for the types and amount of coverage you really want. With that in mind, we got quotes from both Progressive and Geico for different types of drivers, including a 23-year-old male, a 23-year-old female, a 53-year-old male, and a 53-year-old female.  For the purpose of these quotes, we said the drivers are single and live in Houston, Texas (Zip Code 77001). We also said they drive a 2018 Toyota Camry and put on approximately 12,000 miles per year. None of the drivers have had any accidents or violations in the past three years, they all rent their homes, and they all have a college degree. Geico Car Insurance Rates Coverage / Driver Profile Male, 23 Female, 23 Male, 53 Female, 53 Rate for State Minimum –30/60/25 – Liability Only $399 $456 $278 $292 With Un/Under-insured Motorist and Collision & Comprehensive $1,051 $1,113 $714 $748 50/100/50 – Liability Only $435 $498 $302 $317 With Un/Under-insured Motorist and Collision & Comprehensive $1,114 $1,215 $770 $816 100/300/100 – Liability Only $499 $561 $345 $363 With Un/Under-insured Motorist and Collision & Comprehensive $1,112 $1275 $854 $915 Progressive Car Insurance Rates Coverage / Driver Profile Male, 23 Female, 23 Male, 53 Female, 53 Rate for State Minimum –30/60/25 – Liability Only $552 $522 $370 $364 With Un/Under-insured Motorist and Collision & Comprehensive $1,356 $1,226 $838 $838 50/100/50 – Liability Only $588 $556 $400 $390 With Un/Under-insured Motorist and Collision & Comprehensive $1,432 $1,314 $970 $892 100/300/100 – Liability Only $654 $616 $436 $422 With Un/Under-insured Motorist and Collision & Comprehensive $1,548 $1,444 $1,012 $912 As you can see from the two quote charts above, Geico comes out ahead in terms of affordability across

[ad_1] The post What Is an IPO? What Happens When Companies Hold an Initial Public Offering appeared first on Millennial Money. Last year was a record-breaking year for companies going public. A staggering 397 companies held initial public offerings (IPOs) in 2021, raising more than $142 billion, according to IPO research company Renaissance Capital.  While that sounds like an exciting thing for investors, IPOs can be a murky event. Media companies covering hot IPOs don’t always explain the basics of what’s going on.  So if you’ve always been interested in IPO investing, but don’t know where to start, here’s a quick primer of what an initial public offering is. We’ll also share some tips for would-be IPO investors. What Is an IPO? As we said above, IPO stands for “initial public offering.” Let’s break down the IPO acronym first, because it gives us three important bits of information about the IPO process right off the bat: Initial: A company can have secondary offerings, as well as add-on offerings, so “initial” here refers to the first time the company offers its shares to public investors.  Public: As you might have guessed, when a company IPOs, it offers its shares to all investors on the public market. This is why an IPO is often referred to as a company “going public.” Offering: The company is offering shares for sale to the public. Now let’s take a closer look at what exactly is going on when a private company becomes a public company.  Why Does a Company Hold an IPO? The short answer of why companies hold IPOs is to raise money. By offering its shares on the public market, a company receives capital from the sale of those shares that it can use toward paying off debt, building products, offering new services, etc.  The biggest IPO of 2021 was for electric vehicle maker Rivian. By selling 153 million shares of the company on the public market, Rivian raised a staggering $12 billion. There are also secondary benefits for a publicly-traded company, including being able to secure more favorable borrowing terms. Publicly traded companies have to disclose lots of financial information, which can be beneficial to them when lenders assess their financial state.  How Does a Company Go Public? We won’t go through all the nitty-gritty steps to an IPO here, but it’s important to understand that taking a company public is a pretty big ordeal. When a company is considering going public, it will usually choose an underwriter — typically, a large investment bank — to set the process in motion. The underwriter will help the company set the offering price, the number of new shares to be listed, etc.  During the pre-IPO process, the company files an S-1 Registration Statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). These financial statements are very important for potential investors because it’s the first glimpse of a pre-IPO company’s financials.  In it, you’ll find information about the company’s risks, if it’s profitable or not, what its liabilities and assets are, and other financial information that can help you decide whether or not to become an investor. One infamous example of an S-1 gone wrong comes from The We Co. (former parent company of WeWork). The company first attempted to go public in 2019 and released an S-1 leading up to the IPO.  In it, The We Co. disclosed that it was losing money at a rapid pace, lease obligations were accelerating too fast, revenue per member was shrinking, and there were potential conflicts of interest from business deals involving then-CEO Adam Neumann.  All of that led to The We Co. scrapping its IPO, laying off lots of employees, and replacing Neumann with a new CEO. The revamped company, under the WeWork name, then went public in 2021. So when we say an S-1 is important, this example is exactly why.  Finally, another stage of the IPO process is what’s called the roadshow. This part is important for companies because it’s when they meet with potential institutional investors to pitch them on their company and try to convince them why they should buy shares at the IPO.  Can I Buy Shares of a Company When It IPOs? Brokerages, where most investors buy and sell their stocks (think Charles Schwab, TD Ameritrade, or Fidelity), usually can’t guarantee that investors will be able to buy a single share in a company’s IPO. Having a high net worth and lots of money in a particular trading account may make it easier for you to get access to the IPO, but it’s not a slam dunk.  In many cases, a company’s IPO shares go to institutional investors such as a mutual fund, making it very difficult for individual investors to buy shares at the IPO price, particularly for highly anticipated IPOs.  The good news is that, while you may feel like you’re missing out if you can’t buy a single share in an initial public offering, it doesn’t always pay to be an early investor in a public company. In fact, the long-term data shows that the initial pop that some companies experience when they go public usually fades.  Recent research from Nasdaq shows that two-thirds of IPOs are underperforming the stock market three years after their IPO — most of them are behind by more than 10%.  Of course, that doesn’t mean that all IPOs are a bad investment. But it does show that jumping on an IPO stock right at the beginning isn’t always a wise choice and can often be a risky move.  What Happens to a Company After It Goes Public? Public companies deal with much more regulation than private companies and must follow legal requirements for reporting quarterly financial results and disclosing certain information to shareholders.  The public company may continue to function in a similar way that it did when it was private, but it has a lot more responsibility after becoming publicly traded. For example, all publicly traded companies must have a

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[ad_1] Exclusive-Major buyers of Russian oil struggle with bank guarantees -sources [ad_2] Source link

[ad_1] Government officials on Thursday went into a huddle to access the impact of Russian aggression in Ukraine on the Indian economy and began preparing contingency plans to combat a possible spike in inflation due to a rise in oil prices and the country’s external trade being impacted. While there are no immediate fears of a supply disruption or trade routes being blocked, oil prices soaring to an over seven-year high of USD 105 per barrel do have a short and medium-term impact on the economy. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said she will be meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi to review the situation following Russian President Vladimir Putin authorising a ‘special military operation’ that saw his forces firing missiles at several cities in Ukraine and landing troops on its coast. A daily revision in prices of petrol and diesel and the monthly change in cooking gas LPG rate was halted as five states including Uttar Pradesh went to polls. The over three-month hiatus combined with the spike in international oil prices — on which domestic rates are dependent — has widened the gulf between cost and selling price. Industry sources said the gap is well over Rs 10 per litre, which when passed on after completion of the elections next month would result in a spike in inflation rate which is already above the RBI’s tolerance level of 6 per cent. While the petroleum ministry detailed the oil supply situation, the finance ministry officials were busy assessing the broader impact and the fiscal measures the government may have to unleash, such as a cut in excise duty. A separate assessment was being done on the impact of sanctions the US and other countries have imposed on Moscow, on India’s trade with Russia and Ukraine. According to a senior finance ministry official, the government is assessing the economic fallout of the fast unfolding situation.Inputs from various ministries are being gathered as to what impact sanctions will have on foreign trade in different sectors, the official said, adding crude oil prices are also being watched. Another top official said oil supply routes are unhindered and there was abundant stock available in the market. “Our suppliers are in the Middle East, Africa and North America, who are untouched by the conflict and they continue to supply oil and gas as normal.” Prices, however, are of concern as they will stoke inflation. “Retail prices are on hold but ultimately they will have to be increased at some point,” the official said. India, the world’s third-largest oil consumer, depends on imports to meet 85 per cent of its needs. The imported oil is converted into products like petrol, diesel and LPG. Saudi Arabia, Iraq and other Middle East nations account for 63.1 per cent of all imports. Africa is the second biggest supplier, accounting for close to 14 per cent of all supplies while North America gives 13.2 per cent. Russia makes up for a third of Europe’s natural gas and about 10 per cent of global oil production. About a third of Russian gas supplies to Europe usually travel through pipelines crossing Ukraine. But for India, Russian supplies account for a very small percentage. While India imported 43,400 barrels per day of oil from Russia in 2021 (about 1 per cent of its overall imports), coal imports from Russia at 1.8 million tonnes in 2021 made up for 1.3 per cent of all inbound shipments of the dry fuel. India also buys 2.5 million tonnes of LNG a year from Gazprom of Russia. Exporters’ body FIEO said the Russia-Ukraine military conflict may have an implication on the country’s trade as it could affect the movement of consignments, payments and oil prices. The Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) said it has asked exporters to hold their consignments to the region or goods that take the Black Sea route. To Russia, Ukraine and other eastern European countries, goods move from the Suez Canal and the Black Sea, FIEO Director-General Ajay Sahai said. Just about 1.6 per cent of all imports that came into India in 2020 were sourced from Russia and about 1.3 per cent of all exports from the country were destined for Russia. Similarly, India accounted for just about 1.5 per cent of all imports by Russia and about 1.7 per cent of all its exports. Bilateral trade between India and Russia stands at USD 9.4 billion so far this fiscal, against USD 8.1 billion in 2020-21. India’s main imports from Russia include fuels, mineral oils, pearls, precious or semi-precious stones, nuclear reactors, boilers, machinery and mechanical appliances; electrical machinery and equipment and fertilisers. Major export items from India to Russia include pharmaceutical products, electrical machinery and equipment, organic chemicals and vehicles. India’s bilateral trade with Ukraine is at USD 2.3 billion so far this fiscal, as against USD 2.5 billion in the last fiscal. The main items of Indian import from Ukraine are agriculture products, metallurgical products, plastics and polymers, while pharmaceuticals, machinery, chemicals and food products are the major Indian exports to the country. FIEO Vice-President Khalid Khan said if the military operation continues for a long time, it will have serious implications for exports to and imports from that region. “Oil and gas prices will zoom, there could be payment delays for traders,” he said. Stock markets were awash in red and the Indian currency slumped against the dollar on Thursday amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine pushing investors to seek refuge in safe-haven assets. [ad_2] Source link

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[ad_1] Factbox-How dependent is Germany on Russian gas? [ad_2] Source link