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[ad_1] Amazon partnered with China propaganda arm to win Beijing's favor, document shows [ad_2] Source link

[ad_1] Shares of RateGain Travel Technologies made a weak debut on the exchanges on Friday as they listed at a 15% discount over the issue price, despite healthy demand from investors during the share sale. The stock listed at Rs 360 on the NSE, a 15% discount against its issue price of Rs 425. On the BSE, the stock debuted at Rs 364.80, down 14.16% over its issue price. The stock ended the session 19.88% lower at Rs 340.5 on the BSE. RateGain’s shares were trading with minimal premium in the grey market ahead of the listing too. The company has registered losses on the books during the pandemic.  The Rs 1,335-crore initial public offering (IPO) was overall subscribed 17.41 times during its share sale between December 7 to December 9. Brokerage firms highlighted that the company is highly dependent on the Tourism and Hospitality industry for its revenues and the industry is expected to grow at a positive CAGR in the upcoming years. However, the area will continue to face some headwinds in the near term due to the impact of Covid-19, analysts said. “The company serves a large and rapidly growing total addressable market. Third party travel and hospitality technology is estimated to be a $591 crore market in 2021, growing to an estimated $1,147 crore in 2025 at a CAGR of 18%,” Kotak Securities said in an IPO note. [ad_2] Source link

[ad_1] Each week, Cut the Crap Investing founder Dale Roberts shares financial headlines and offers context for Canadian investors.  Jerome Powell, the stage is yours This week, all eyes and ears were on the U.S. Federal Reserve and the Fed chairman, Jerome Powell. The Federal Reserve, the U.S. central bank, conducted a two-day meeting on Wednesday and Thursday. On Thursday, it was announced the pace of the tapering of bond buying will double and that rate hikes are likely to begin in 2022. Power suggested we could see three rate hikes in 2022, with more to follow in 2023.  The Fed was forced to respond to ongoing and troubling inflation in the U.S. On Monday, inflation readings showed a 6.8% increase for November, year over year. That was the greatest rate of increase in more than 40 years. It was time for Powell to get to work. One of the main tools a central bank has is to raise rates—to ultimately increase borrowing costs, and in turn cool the economy.  The most notable line from the Powell press conference:  “This is not the inflation we wanted.”  It’a certainly time to act. But will the U.S. Federal Reserve take away the punch bowl? Is the stock and real estate party over, thanks to the removal of stimulus? The markets said “party on.” Markets in the U.S., Canada and around the globe spiked on the Powell comments and the path laid out in the commentary.  Here’s the S&P 500 (IVV) chart courtesy of Seeking Alpha. Stocks added more than 1% on December 15, as Powell gave his remarks.  Stocks did soften at the close of the week. Traders are absorbing the rate hike agenda and the surging Omicron variant.  Source: Seeking Alpha The market likes certainty. And the Powell comments, and the Fed moves, came in as expected. Powell also balanced his rates outlook with a strong dose of optimism. He appears to fear inflation, but not the new Omicron variant.  Stock market history suggests the initial period of rate hikes is not harmful to markets. That makes sense, as rates are usually increased to cool a red-hot economy. The rate hikes normally begin when things are “all-good.” Also from this Seeking Alpha post: Source: Seeking Alpha That said, trouble (ahem, recessions) can often begin years after the rate hike cycle begins. As reported from Seeking Alpha: “ ‘Since 1955, there’ve been 13 hiking cycles, and the median time from the start of the hiking cycle to the next recession is just over three years, with the earliest gap at 11 months,’ Deutsche Bank’s Jim Reid writes.” Market history suggests there may be no immediate threat. My column from May 2021 features a table showing the returns for U.S. stocks through the rising rate environments over the last several decades.  And, there is certainly no guarantee that the Fed will follow through with rate increases.  “Bloomberg Surveillance” host Lisa Abramowicz was not buying the rate increase suggestion.   On Thursday morning, Abramowicz suggested the markets are thinking “transitory” on the possibility of those rate increases. (Ha! Transitory humour.)  Canadian economist David Rosenberg is also suspicious. Check out his tweet: How the Fed gets 4% growth for 2022, double potential, with the degree of fiscal support we will see, remains a true mystery. I'll take the under on that — or maybe it's a set-up to end up doing nothing on rates after all this tough language. — David Rosenberg (@EconguyRosie) December 15, 2021 Quite possibly, the markets don’t believe Powell. When push comes to shove, the Fed will be there to reverse course and pull the plug on rate hikes.  (For some background, read: What is a taper tantrum?) I checked in with Greg Foss, a former credit-focused hedge fund manager. I asked how he interpreted the tepid response from the bond markets. The bond markets reacted as if it was status quo and they barely noticed.  Foss responded via email:   “The bond market does not believe that hikes are possible …. nor do I.”  And he responded on a stronger U.S. dollar:  “The strengthening of the U.S. dollar will cause all emerging markets to crater, then it will leak into the S&P, then the Fed will turn their back on those rate hikes.” As we’ve all discovered during this pandemic, times are unpredictable, and so much could happen over the next several months. Inflation could moderate, and economic growth could slow.  There might be no need to fight inflation or slow economic growth by way of rate increases.  And, as has been the case for the last 21 months, the pandemic and now Omicron are the wild cards. Anything can happen. Be prepared, as always.  The green transition will be inflationary It will take an incredible amount of materials (commodities) to build the electric vehicles and batteries, and to create the amount of clean energy and infrastructure required to meet our net zero climate targets. I see that as a very obvious and investable trend. Global greenficiation might be the greatest political event driving the planet right now and that greenficiation will likely become the greatest economic force.  In late November, I wrote about the greenification commodities supercycle.  I found a few reports suggesting the greenification process will also be inflationary. On Yahoo! Finance (watch the video), Principal Global Investors’ chief strategist Seema Shah said that, as companies and countries deal with the massive infrastructure build, this could lead to an energy shortage and higher prices. She adds that we will start to see energy inflation. That’s “en-flation,” a term we’ll be seeing a lot more of in the future. And en-flation could lead to structurally higher inflation over the coming years.  As companies strive to get to net-zero targets, many will purchase carbon credits. Those costs are expected to rise. Companies struggling to meet CO2 reductions targets will also face government levies, as more countries put a price on carbon.  It will be expensive for those companies that do make

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[ad_1] Antibodies weak vs Omicron; treatment may help patients on ventilators [ad_2] Source link

[ad_1] By Piyush Shukla After the introduction of Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) new policies on prompt corrective action (PCA) and upgradation of bad loans, some non-banking finance companies (NBFCs) could report an increase in provisions or write-offs. Industry experts also don’t rule out a change in product mix, following the new norms. “Some NBFCs, which have NNPA (net non-performing assets) near the threshold-1 (6%) could see an increase in the write-off or provisions. However, the extent of the same would be dependent on the impact of daily recognition/tightened upgrade policy, which was rolled out in November 2021, and existing provisions carried by those companies. While at the sector level, provisions carried are adequate at present, some entities could be impacted,” AM Karthik, vice-president and sector head of financial sector ratings at ICRA, told FE. In a report published Wednesday, Motilal Oswal said only Mahindra & Mahindra Financial Services (M&M Finance) had NNPAs of more than 6% which it could conveniently bring down to less than 6% by the end of the current financial year. Speaking to FE, M&M Finance vice-chairman and managing director Ramesh Iyer said the company had guided for NPAs to fall to 4% by March. “We do believe that with recovery process and market conditions improving and crop money coming in, we should naturally go to below 6%.” However, commenting on the November 12 guidelines of the RBI which said loan accounts classified as NPAs could be upgraded to ‘standard’ assets only if the entire arrears of interest and principal were paid by the borrower, Iyer said this was a little difficult for the profile of customers that the company worked with. “I believe that all of us will need to revisit the business model so as to follow this rule. We will be careful about customer segment that can be considered. There will be a percentage of customers who definitely cannot pay on the appointed due date, for them it is completely dependent on the marketplace. So people will choose which segments to work, which application to work, which geography to work, so there will be this rejigging of the model. But, it is too premature to say it will have an impact on the business volumes, but definitely there will be a rethinking on the business model,” Iyer added. Shriram Transport Finance and Shriram City Union Finance, on the other hand, do not upgrade any NPA to standard at present till all dues are cleared, said YS Chakravarti, MD & chief executive officer at Shriram City Union Finance. “On the daily NPA stamping, however, both companies will have to change their current practice, and this may see a marginal increase in Stage 3 numbers in Q3 (October-December). The impact could be higher in Q4 (January-march), but keep in mind these would be accounting details, and our credit costs would remain largely unaltered in the short-term, while trending lower in the medium-term because of higher collection efficiencies,” he told FE. [ad_2] Source link

[ad_1] HousingWire recently spoke with Selene Finance‘s Chief Revenue Officer John Vella about the ways subservicing can help lenders and servicers going into 2022. HousingWire: What about 2022’s anticipated market makes subservicing a particularly good opportunity for lenders and servicers? John Vella: With production volumes flattening out and non-QM originations increasing, the need for originators to focus resources and cost on the front end of the business could lead to more subservicing opportunities. Midsize lenders are prime candidates in this market to subservice while providing servicing oversight to a subservicer who has the infrastructure and expertise to manage the flow of originations. Another growth area for subservicing will be in the special servicing category as loans come off forbearance and non-QM originations grow. Servicers and originators will look for delinquent loans to be managed by a special subservicer who has the portfolio management infrastructure to manage credit risk. HW: How have the past two years shaped the way lenders and servicers view subservicing? JV: With the pandemic and the new administration, lenders and servicers are viewing it with more scrutiny. The emphasis on borrower interaction, compliance and credit risk management has never been more in the forefront. As lenders and servicers look to subservicing, they need transparency, experience and a personal touch to their portfolios. The days of placing all the loans in a pooled environment with a philosophy of treating all the loans the same way does not work. Lenders and servicers are looking for partners who can manage loans like they were their own loans, with skin in the game. HousingWire: What are some of the key challenges lenders and servicers face pertaining to servicing and how does subservicing help overcome them? JV: Lenders and servicers want to focus on originations, borrower retention, loss mitigation and regulatory compliance. To do that effectively, the infrastructure needed can be costly, resource intensive and complex. By utilizing a subservicer, the lender or servicer can provide oversight while setting performance indicators to monitor. This will put the loans in the hands of an established subservicer with the proper infrastructure in place to effectively manage the portfolio. HW: From a lender perspective, what are the advantages for the borrower if a lender partners with a subservicer? JV: The borrower is the No. 1 focus of the subservicer, with the goal to provide best-in-class service to respond to borrower needs while retaining them as a customer. Their ability to answer calls and respond to requests in a timely manner and help the borrower if they are having payment issues is the responsibility of the subservicer. The proper partner will make sure the lender is comfortable with their approach to retain the borrower while ensuring proper performance targets are maintained as set by the lender. From the time the loan is boarded, the subservicer will be in constant support of the borrower to ensure all their needs are met. The post Why 2022 could open more opportunities for subservicing appeared first on HousingWire. [ad_2] Source link

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[ad_1] HSBC fined $85 million for UK anti-money laundering failings [ad_2] Source link

[ad_1] Inter Milan have terminated midfielder Christian Eriksen’s contract, the Italian Serie A club said on Friday, after the Denmark international was suspended from playing in Italy because of his cardiac device implant. Eriksen, 29, has not played since suffering a cardiac arrest during Denmark’s opening game of the European Championship against Finland in June and receiving life-saving treatment on the pitch. Inter said in October that the Italian medical authority had suspended Eriksen from playing in Serie A, due to a rule prohibiting the use of an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) device. “FC Internazionale Milano announces that an agreement has been reached for the consensual termination of Christian Eriksen’s contract,” Inter said in a statement. “The club and the entire Nerazzurri family embrace the player and wish him the best for his future. “Christian was a key figure in our march to the Scudetto – a team effort which Eriksen contributed to with his vision, intuition, passing, assists and goals, including some big ones.” The Danish midfielder scored in the game against Crotone that ultimately gave Inter the title and he also netted a free kick against Udinese at the San Siro on the final day of the season. “That is our final, happy, wistful memory of Christian on the pitch in an Inter shirt. Because sometimes life takes a turn for the unexpected and sends you down a path you didn’t imagine,” the club added. “Every Inter fan, every football fan, looked on in silence, hoping for Christian. Seeing him back (at the training ground) in Appiano Gentile with his team mates, as Italian champions, was a joy to behold and one we will never forget.” Earlier this month, Eriksen had begun working out at the training ground of his youth club Odense Boldklub in Denmark following his rehabilitation. [ad_2] Source link