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[ad_1] Shopify sees slowing revenue growth, higher spending; shares tank [ad_2] Source link

[ad_1] Share Market News Today | Sensex, Nifty, Share Prices LIVE: Indian equity markets opened higher amid mixed global cues as Russia Ukraine conflict concerns eased. At open, the Sensex was up 258.53 points or 0.45% at 58255.21, and the Nifty was up 92.10 points or 0.53% at 17414.30. Volatility could be the hallmark in today’s session until investors are certain that Russia will not invade Ukraine. Tata Motors, Wipro, IOC, Hero MotoCorp and Grasim Industries were among major gainers on the Nifty, while losers were HDFC Life, HDFC Bank, HUL, Britannia Industries and Dr Reddy’s Labs. In the broader markets, the BSE MidCap and SmallCap indices were also in the positive territory, up 0.5 per cent each. “This increase in volatility is likely to remain in the near term as market continues to focus on the geo-political developments around Russia and Ukraine. Other major factors like inflation and interest rate too continue dominate the Global narrative,” said Siddhartha Khemka, Head – Retail Research, Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd. [ad_2] Source link

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[ad_1] Japan racked up a 2.2 trillion yen (USD 19 billion) trade deficit last month, an eight-year high, as the cost of energy imports soared, the government said Thursday. The Finance Ministry said exports edged up 9.6 per cent in January from the same month the previous year. Imports jumped 39.6 per cent, resulting in the sixth straight month of trade deficits, it said. The amount is the biggest since January 2014, when the trade deficit totaled nearly 2.8 trillion yen. Koya Miyamae, a senior economist at SMBC Nikko Securities, said the trade deficit tends to rise in January because of the New Year’s holidays, which pushes exports down.“But even taking that into consideration, the deficit is huge,” he said. Japan imports almost all its oil and gas. Prices have soared to multi-year highs recently, adding to global concerns about inflation. Tensions in Ukraine amid worries about a Russian invasion have pushed prices still higher. Meanwhile, Japan’s currency, the yen, has weakened against the U.S. dollar as the Federal Reserve prepares to raise interest rates to counter inflation. Higher rates tend to push the dollar higher against other currencies because they create more demand for dollar-denominated investments. Exports have not risen as quickly as imports as manufacturing of electronics and autos has been slowed by shortages of computer chips resulting from pandemic-related disruptions in some countries. Japan racked up a 2.2 trillion yen (USD 19 billion) trade deficit last month, an eight-year high, as the cost of energy imports soared, the government said Thursday. The Finance Ministry said exports edged up 9.6 per cent in January from the same month the previous year. Imports jumped 39.6 per cent, resulting in the sixth straight month of trade deficits, it said. The amount is the biggest since January 2014, when the trade deficit totaled nearly 2.8 trillion yen. Koya Miyamae, a senior economist at SMBC Nikko Securities, said the trade deficit tends to rise in January because of the New Year’s holidays, which pushes exports down.“But even taking that into consideration, the deficit is huge,” he said. Japan imports almost all its oil and gas. Prices have soared to multi-year highs recently, adding to global concerns about inflation. Tensions in Ukraine amid worries about a Russian invasion have pushed prices still higher.Meanwhile, Japan’s currency, the yen, has weakened against the U.S. dollar as the Federal Reserve prepares to raise interest rates to counter inflation. Higher rates tend to push the dollar higher against other currencies because they create more demand for dollar-denominated investments. Exports have not risen as quickly as imports as manufacturing of electronics and autos has been slowed by shortages of computer chips resulting from pandemic-related disruptions in some countries. [ad_2] Source link

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[ad_1] Walmart's Mexico unit sees profit rise 5% but costs increase [ad_2] Source link

[ad_1] Compass CEO Robert Reffkin How long can this last? Compass lost $494 million in 2021, a historically robust year for U.S. real estate, as the New York City brokerage continues to burn through money amid its rapid expansion. The net income loss is 83% greater than Compass’s $270 million loss in 2020, eight-year-old Compass’s final year as a private company. Compass did report on an earnings call Wednesday another mammoth revenue gain, rocketing to $6.4 billion in yearly revenue from $3.7 billion, a 73% leap. However, 83% of that is instantly lost to “commissions and other related expenses.” Compass has earned a reputation for paying higher commission splits than other full service real estate brokerages like the conglomerate Realogy or HomeServices of America. After commissions and other expenses, Compass posted $1.1 billion in yearly revenue. The net income loss was not discussed by CEO and company co-founder Robert Reffkin. “I am happy to announce that our strategy of achieving strong revenue growth while improving profitability and investing in our business is working exceptionally well,” Reffkin said on the earnings call. Improved profitability? Reffkin would appear to measure profitability not by net income, but adjusted EBITDA, a measurement that he and Chief Financial Officer Kristen Ankerbrandt referenced frequently on the call. EBITDA is earnings before interest, taxes, deductions, and amortization. Compass’s adjusted EBITDA, meanwhile, effectively wipes off the books the company’s $386 million stock-based compensation to agents and employees. It also wipes off $24 million in expenses from acquisitions. By treating stock-based compensation and acquisition expenses as non-operating expenses, Compass can claim to have an adjusted EBITDA of positive $2 million for 2021. While acquisition expenses may be a one-time cost, the vast majority of stock-based compensation is not. Just $149 million – or 38% — of the compensation is a one-time cost from Compass’s initial public offering. Compass began selling shares on the New York Stock Exchange in April, generating $440 million in one-time proceeds from issuing common stock. Compass’s market capitalization has sank 240% since that debut and is now at $3.4 billion, which is still higher than competitor Realogy. Not known is how long Compass can continue to hemorrhage money, though the company reports having $618 million cash on hand. The desultory bottom line stands in sharp contrast to the brokerage’s glittering sales growth. Compass’s agent count has shot up to 26,000 agents, who produced $254 billion in sales transaction volume in 2021 – a 68% leap from 2020. Compass also reported that its share of the U.S. real estate market grew to 5.6% from 4.0% in 2020, suggesting that the brokerage may overtake Realogy as enjoying the largest share of an exceedingly fragmented landscape. Also, if Compass’s independent contractor agents are concerned about the company’s financials, they are not showing it with their feet. The company reported an over 90% agent retention, a rebuke to anecdotal tales of agents and agent teams souring on the brokerage. Reffkin suggested that Compass is not giving agents the compensation packages it has in the past, stating 62% of agents who recently came to Compass are receiving a less favorable split compared to their brokerage. Also, “Less agents are getting equity,” Reffkin said. Besides lower agent compensation, one potential avenue to profitability is offering title, escrow, and mortgage. Analysts on the call returned time and again to these subjects, which may play a larger role in Compass’s 2022 financials. The company has started a mortgage joint venture with Guaranteed Rate, which has JVs with Realogy and @properties. Compass may explore additional JVs and related partnerships, Reffkin said. The post Compass nearly doubles losses in 2021 appeared first on HousingWire. [ad_2] Source link

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[ad_1] Oil in Rollercoaster Mode as Iran Talks Roil Market [ad_2] Source link

[ad_1] HousingWire recently sat down with Steve Meirink, executive vice president and general manager, Compliance Solutions, Wolters Kluwer’s Governance, Risk and Compliance Division, to discuss the impact of digital technology on mortgage and the future of digital lending in an era of accelerated innovation and digital transformation. HousingWire: What are the key factors and trends driving the adoption of digital lending? How has the COVID-19 pandemic contributed to this? Steve Meirink Steve Meirink: Digital lending is now a must-have for organizations that need to differentiate in the marketplace by moving faster with greater agility while at the same time reducing costs. In addition, consumers expect better digital experiences – like what you get with Amazon or Uber. Companies that provide this kind of seamless user experience will move ahead and those that don’t will fall behind. We saw this with the COVID-19 pandemic where the demand for contactless transactions took off – such as the ‘tap to pay’ feature for your smart credit card. In digital lending this has led to the growing popularity of eClosings and remote online notarization (RON). HW: What are some of the core building blocks for digital lending? SM: I joined this industry as a Retail Mortgage Loan Officer growing to a Broker Owner in my local community and try to apply a simple concept we share with customers and prospects which is the idea of digital lending made simple. It starts with a document engine that provides the core inputs for a digital loan transaction – fully automated with warranted loan agreements and contracts. At Wolters Kluwer, our document engine is Expere, which is fully integrated with loan origination systems (LOS) and other core lending systems. Also important is an eClosing platform to accelerate and simplify complex loan agreements with workflow management to deliver a simple and intuitive closing experience for lenders, borrowers and settlement agents. This is our Closing Center for digital mortgages. An eVault or an authoritative copy is also needed to consolidate digital loans in one system and ensure digital asset certainty with full ownership and control of assets. This is our OmniVault.   Organizations also need digital asset certainty based on an immutable history and digital chain of custody for all digital financial assets. The idea is that only one digital original exists and is legally transferable and enforceable. When you see Digital Original® in the financial services space, you can have confidence that Wolters Kluwer is in the background enabling that to happen. Finally, analytics and reporting tools are needed to analyze risk and ensure compliance through information sharing and accurate reporting. This is our Wiz technology, which delivers data-driven insights and improves decision-making. HW: For those considering a digital lending platform today, what are the key benefits they can expect? And for those who wait, what are the risks? SM: A digital lending platform lowers the classic “barriers to entry.” Companies can adopt new technology faster while increasing efficiency, reducing cost, and growing margin and profitability. And most importantly: they can deliver better customer experiences. The risks of not moving forward? If you don’t, more efficient competitors will “eat your lunch” and take business away. Keep in mind that decisions made today will impact your business for many years to come. It’s important to leverage the expertise and experience of trusted advisors who have been working in this field since the dawn of digital lending almost 20 years ago.  Our team of experts enabled, along with other industry partners, the first digital lending transaction in many of the industries that we serve today. HW: Looking forward, what does digital lending look like in the next few years? What are some significant trends and shifts we will see? SM: We speak to customers and prospects about next-generation digital loan compliance management, which today means a fully digital platform with robust loan compliance. Increasingly, businesses will focus on what can be achieved by shifting from manual to automated processes in terms of greater economies of scale and cost efficiencies.  This brings with it a dynamic, enhanced, end-to-end user experience – and all the benefits of digital technology for quick response and action. A fully digital lending platform solution offers not only powerful tools aligned with key business processes but also analytics to ensure broader compliance and a warranted asset/portfolio matched with end-to-end, digital-asset certainty. Find more information here. The post What are the building blocks of digital lending? appeared first on HousingWire. [ad_2] Source link