Investment by stockholders increases a business

Metro Pacific Investments Corp chair and president Manuel V. Pangilinan and Solar Philippines founder and CEO Leandro Leviste shake hands after signing the share purchase agreement. MANILA  -Tycoon Manuel V. Pangilinan-led Metro Pacific Investments Corp. is buying into businessman Leandro Leviste’s SP New Energy Corp., announcing on Tuesday  the infusion of a P2-billion investment in the company plus an option that could make it the solar energy startup’s single largest shareholder. In a stock exchange filing on Tuesday, Metro Pacific said it signed definitive agreements to acquire 1.6 billion common shares or a 16 -percent stake in SP New Energy, which is aggressively raising money to bankroll an ambitious pipeline of solar power projects. Solar Philippines aims to build world’s largest solar farm Pangilinan will also replace Leviste, son of Sen. Loren Legarda, as chair of SP New Energy. Leviste will remain president and CEO of the company. “Our thrust of pursuing … [Read more...] about Metro Pacific invests P2B in Leandro Leviste’s solar power firm

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin North Carolina’s First Citizens Bank doubled its size with the stroke of a pen in the early hours of Monday morning with its landmark FDIC-assisted acquisition of Silicon Valley Bank , and nobody will reap the rewards more than the family that has orchestrated its growth for the last century. Chairman and CEO Frank Holding Jr. and his four sisters Olivia Holding, Hope Bryant, Carson Brice and Claire Bristow collectively own about 20% of First Citizens’ stock and have close to 50% voting power in the company, according to SEC filings, for a cumulative stake worth $2.7 billion thanks to Monday’s 54% stock gain following the deal. The surge erased all of the stock’s year-to-date losses in the regional bank selloff stemming from SVB’s failure and contagion fears. Raleigh-based First Citizens and the Holding family have kept a low profile for decades, but the family-owned bank has been on a mission to expand nationwide via … [Read more...] about SVB’s New Owners, The Billionaire North Carolina Family Behind First Citizens, Are Quietly Building A Banking Empire

Companies founded by women received less than 2% of venture capital funding in 2022— a decline from the year before. However, when women-led startups are funded, research has shown that they generate more in cumulative returns, compared to those led by men. A new VC fund aims to take this lesson to women’s sports. On Monday, venture capitalists Kara Nortman and Jasmine Robinson announced the close of a $100 million fund, the Monarch Collective, with a mission to “accelerate equity in global sport.” Nortman is a former partner at the Los Angeles-based venture capital firm Upfront Ventures. Robinson was a partner at Causeway, a fund focused on sports, media, and entertainment. The Monarch Collective, founded in January, will focus on investing in women’s teams and leagues, along with adjacent industries, such as media and gaming. The duo say they are initially considering investments in women’s soccer teams in the U.S., and in women’s teams and leagues in sports such … [Read more...] about The Monarch Collective unveils $100 million fund to bring equity to women’s sports

Shares in Deutsche Bank fell sharply Friday, dragging down other major European banks and leading German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to express confidence in the country’s largest lender after fears about the global financial system sent fresh shudders through the market. Deutsche Bank shares were down 8.8% in late-afternoon trading on the German stock exchange after falling as much as 14%. That followed a steep rise in the cost to insure bondholders against the bank defaulting on its debts, known as credit default swaps. Rising costs on insuring debt were also a prelude to Swiss lender Credit Suisse’s government-backed rescue by rival UBS. That hastily arranged takeover Sunday aimed to stem the upheaval in the global financial system after the collapse of two U.S. banks and jitters about Credit Suisse’s long-running troubles led its shares to tank and customers to pull out their money. Asked whether Deutsche Bank could be the next Credit Suisse, Scholz said, … [Read more...] about What’s happening at Deutsche Bank? Stock drops amid fears that banking crisis will get worse

Key Takeaways U.S. equities jumped, boosted by bank stocks and by comments from Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen that smaller banks that fail could get a government backstop for uninsured deposits. Moody’s raised the rating on Tesla’s ( TSLA ) debt from junk to investment grade, and that sent shares of the electric carmaker up almost 8%. Utility companies were among the biggest decliners in the S&P 500. Falling gold prices drove down shares of Newmont Corporation ( NEM ) and rival gold miners. U.S. equities jumped, boosted by bank stocks on reports of another industry effort to assist struggling First Republic Bank ( FRC ), and by comments from Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen that if needed, smaller banks that fail could get a government backstop for uninsured deposits. All that came a day before the Federal Reserve is set to announce whether it will continue raising interest rates to fight inflation, or hold off because of the turmoil in the banking sector. … [Read more...] about Bank Optimism and Yellen’s Comments Lift Markets

HONG KONG  -Asian and European markets traded higher on Tuesday, as fears of a banking crisis eased thanks to the sale of fallen lender Silicon Valley Bank. News that North Carolina-based First Citizens Bank had agreed to take over most of SVB boosted European stocks and Wall Street on Monday. The gains were led by banking shares, following a rout last week over concerns that the turmoil in the sector could hit other major institutions, such as German giant Deutsche Bank. Hong Kong and Tokyo closed higher, while Sydney, Singapore and Seoul also gained. Shanghai was down, however. European equities were also higher in early trade, with London, Frankfurt and Paris all in positive territory. Ray Attrill, head of FX strategy at National Australia Bank, said Tuesday that the acquisition by First Citizens had “helped set a positive tone” in global markets. SVB deal helps to steady banks amid credit crunch concerns “Together with the absence of new scare stories over … [Read more...] about Asian, European markets rise as banking crisis fears ease

House leadership may bring H.R. 6, the 21st Century Cures Act, to the floor after next week’s House recess. The bill doesn’t cure a thing, except, perhaps momentarily, the appetite of the federal leviathan to grow. H.R. 6 deepens the federal government’s involvement in medicine, a role that the Founding Fathers wisely left to the states and the people through the Tenth Amendment.  The legislation is well-intentioned, but turns federalism on its head and spends a massive amount of money with dubious offsets. H.R. 6 is a 309 page bill that attempts to accomplish quite a bit. The bill’s goals include promoting personalized medicine, improving the clinical trials process, making the regulatory path clearer for medical apps, creating economic incentives for the development of drugs for rare diseases, improving, “the entire biomedical ecosystem ensuring the innovation infrastructure works as quickly and efficiently as possible.” Oh, it is also a “ jobs bill .” Somewhere in the … [Read more...] about The Century Cures Act Is A Needless Waste

With chatbots like ChatGPT making a splash , machine learning is playing an increasingly prominent role in our lives. For many of us, it’s been a mixed bag. We rejoice when our Spotify For You playlist finds us a new jam, but groan as we scroll through a slew of targeted ads on our Instagram feeds. Machine learning is also changing many fields that may seem surprising. One example is my discipline, ornithology—the study of birds . It isn’t just solving some of the biggest challenges associated with studying bird migration; more broadly, machine learning is expanding the ways in which people engage with birds. As spring migration picks up, here’s a look at how machine learning is influencing ways to research birds and, ultimately, to protect them. The challenge of conserving migratory birds Most birds in the Western Hemisphere migrate twice a year , flying over entire continents between their breeding and nonbreeding grounds. While these journeys are … [Read more...] about How machine learning is helping scientists forecast bird migration

PHOTO: The TAT has joined up with four online platforms to promote Thailand tourism. (via TAT) Tourism Authority of Thailand has joined forces with Agoda, Alipay, Klook and KKDay in a new joint marketing initiative aimed at increasing tourism in the kingdom. Each of the platforms will launch promotions and campaigns to boost tourism in Thailand and enhance awareness of experience-based tourism activities in major and secondary Thai destinations. Representatives from the four online platforms joined TAT Governor Yuthasak Supasorn and other top-level TAT executives for a press conference to announce the partnership . The TAT governor spoke of the importance of the Internet for modern travel. “TAT recognises the world online platform as an important information source that influences tourists’ decision-making process on airline, hotel, and destination selection, through to sharing their travel experiences during and after the trip. This joint marketing initiative … [Read more...] about Tourism Authority of Thailand partners with Agoda, Alipay, Klook and KKDay

Key Takeaways Carnival Corporation ( CCL ) was the worst-performing stock in the S&P 500 after the cruise line operator predicted much bigger losses than expected in the current quarter and full year. For 2023, the company predicts a loss of $0.28 to $0.44 per share, at least four times more than forecasts. That came as Carnival posted better-than-expected first quarter results and record bookings. Revenue was up 173.1% to $4.43 billion, and was about 95% of the level in 2019, prior to the COVID-19 outbreak which basically shut down its operations. Carnival Corporation ( CCL ) was the worst-performing stock in the S&P 500 after the cruise line operator predicted much bigger losses than expected in the current quarter and full year. Carnival indicated it would lose $0.34 to $0.42 per share in the second quarter. Analysts were anticipating a drop of $0.28. For 2023, the company predicts a loss of $0.28 to $0.44 per share, at least four times more than … [Read more...] about Carnival Guidance Sinks Shares