give – Business News Updates https://newsdaily.business Wed, 18 Jan 2023 17:13:28 +0000 en hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.4.3 https://newsdaily.business/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/cropped-handshake-hand-gesture-dollar-money-finance-coin_96px-32x32.png give - Business News Updates https://newsdaily.business 32 32 Stocks give back gains, Dow sheds 350 points as January rally loses steam https://newsdaily.business/2023/01/18/stocks-give-back-gains-dow-sheds-350-points-as-january-rally-loses-steam/ https://newsdaily.business/2023/01/18/stocks-give-back-gains-dow-sheds-350-points-as-january-rally-loses-steam/#respond Wed, 18 Jan 2023 17:13:28 +0000 https://newsdaily.business/2023/01/18/stocks-give-back-gains-dow-sheds-350-points-as-january-rally-loses-steam/ Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange during morning trading on January 17, 2023 in New York City.  Michael M. Santiago | Getty Images Stocks gave back earlier gains on Wednesday as investors hit the brakes on the new year’s rally, now in its third week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average […]]]>


Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange during morning trading on January 17, 2023 in New York City. 

Michael M. Santiago | Getty Images

Stocks gave back earlier gains on Wednesday as investors hit the brakes on the new year’s rally, now in its third week.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 354 points, or 1%, while the S&P 500 lost 0.8%. The Nasdaq Composite lost 0.6% and was on pace for its first down day in the last eight.

Yung-Yu Ma, chief investment strategist at BMO Wealth Management, attributed the reversal to a combination of skittishness and profit taking.

“We’ve had such a strong start to the year, but now we’re amid a tense earnings season, recently got weaker data — retail sales and yesterday’s Empire State Manufacturing Survey. Plus the Fed meeting on Feb. 1st is looming large,” he said. “There’s not a whole lot of reason to get aggressive here, but all of those factors above suggest that caution is warranted in the near term.”

The Dow Jones Industrial Average on Wednesday

Microsoft announced plans to lay off about 10,000 employees, which hurt investor sentiment. The stock fell and dragged the Dow lower with it.

Investors were also digesting the latest reading on the producer price index, which measures input costs from companies. The PPI showed a 0.5% decline for December. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones expected a 0.1% decline. That briefly gave relief to investors who have hoped for inflation to retreat and for the Federal Reserve to slow its rate-hiking campaign.

Declining prices were also reflected in retail sales, which fell 1.1% in December, slightly more than the 1% forecast.

Investors have been enjoying strong upward momentum for stocks since the start of the year, although many have begun to doubt the market’s strength. The Dow is still higher by 1% for the month, while the S&P and Nasdaq are still up by 3% and 5%, respectively.



Read More:Stocks give back gains, Dow sheds 350 points as January rally loses steam

2023-01-18 17:06:00

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Local Financial Advisors Give Back to Community with New Platform for Smaller Investors https://newsdaily.business/2023/01/15/local-financial-advisors-give-back-to-community-with-new-platform-for-smaller-investors/ https://newsdaily.business/2023/01/15/local-financial-advisors-give-back-to-community-with-new-platform-for-smaller-investors/#respond Sun, 15 Jan 2023 04:57:59 +0000 https://newsdaily.business/2023/01/15/local-financial-advisors-give-back-to-community-with-new-platform-for-smaller-investors/ Lubavitcher Aron Pinson, founder and CIO of Equinum, a white glove wealth management firm, has recently launched Inq which caters to everyone—even those just at the start of their investment journey. Full Story By Aharon Loschak After presenting to various groups of young people around his native Crown Heights, Aron Pinson would regularly encounter the […]]]>


Lubavitcher Aron Pinson, founder and CIO of Equinum, a white glove wealth management firm, has recently launched Inq which caters to everyone—even those just at the start of their investment journey. Full Story

By Aharon Loschak

After presenting to various groups of young people around his native Crown Heights, Aron Pinson would regularly encounter the same question: how do we get started? As founder and CIO of Equinum, a white glove wealth management firm, Pinson is well-versed in the ins and outs of the finance world, and one of his passions is to educate young people to start investing often and early. After stressing the importance of compound interest and other such advantages of starting young, audiences are usually eager to take advantage and get started.

As a wealth management firm for high net-worth individuals and institutions, minimum figures for initial investments with Equinum are well beyond the means of the average young adult.
Looking for ways to give back to the community and help young people along the path to financial stability with smart investing, the staff at Equinum partnered with Charles Schwab to create a unique platform for smaller investors to jump right in. Dubbed “Inq,” clients can receive professional portfolio allocation of a large-scale management firm—without the usual large minimum and fees.

“We’re thrilled to finally be able to launch Inq which caters to everyone—even those just at the start of their investment journey,” said Pinson. “This is a unique opportunity for a much wider audience to invest in professionally managed and diversified portfolios and allow their money to compound over time.”

With only a five thousand dollar minimum, anyone can log onto the site without even a single phone call, open their account, and choose what type of portfolio they would like to invest in. A custom questionnaire prompts the system to suggest a specific portfolio, further removing much of the guesswork.

Equinum will call each new client and offer professional guidance as they start their investment journey, consistent with their client-focused company philosophy. This is an invaluable service, as for many clients Inq is their first exposure to the vast universe that is wealth management. Having professional guidance as they navigate this overwhelming world is a precious commodity.

To further assist the community and help guide relatively inexperienced potential investors to the right place, Equinum is working with local accountants and other front-line financial vendors to offer their services. As a local firm with its roots firmly entrenched in the community, Equinum is a comfortable and trusted solution for many.

“Over the years, we’ve heard people look back wishing they had received professional guidance along their investment journey—with whatever amount it was,” said Mendel Lerman, an advisor at Equinum. “It’s so gratifying to now be able to offer a platform that will provide that guidance available to such a wide audience.”

Anyone interested in taking advantage of this new offering can log on to https://equinum.com/inq .



Read More:Local Financial Advisors Give Back to Community with New Platform for Smaller Investors

2023-01-14 23:49:19

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Pittsburgh’s AI expertise may give rise to an already growing startup market https://newsdaily.business/2023/01/12/pittsburghs-ai-expertise-may-give-rise-to-an-already-growing-startup-market/ https://newsdaily.business/2023/01/12/pittsburghs-ai-expertise-may-give-rise-to-an-already-growing-startup-market/#respond Thu, 12 Jan 2023 16:49:06 +0000 https://newsdaily.business/2023/01/12/pittsburghs-ai-expertise-may-give-rise-to-an-already-growing-startup-market/ Emerging markets tend to go in and out of vogue. First, Austin was the next biggest thing, then Atlanta and, more recently, Miami. Pittsburgh has yet to have its moment, but all the signs are there that it could be next. Having local expertise in the category every VC wants to invest in right now […]]]>


Emerging markets tend to go in and out of vogue. First, Austin was the next biggest thing, then Atlanta and, more recently, Miami. Pittsburgh has yet to have its moment, but all the signs are there that it could be next. Having local expertise in the category every VC wants to invest in right now doesn’t hurt, either.

The Steel City has all the ingredients to be a hub for startups: a good university system, a cheaper cost of living — definitely when compared to places like New York and the Bay Area — and a proliferation of seed firms and startup accelerators. Plus, it has seen a homegrown success story in language learning app Duolingo, which went public at a nearly $4 billion valuation in 2021.

Startups in the city raised more than $534 million through December 12, 2022, according to PitchBook, which, while not a lot of capital, is better than 2021, when they raised $336 million. And while the data is not consistently trending up and to the right — there was a huge outlier deal (Uber Advanced Technologies) in 2019 that spiked the yearly investment total to $1.3 billion — venture investors on the ground can feel the city’s potential. (I talked about Pittsburgh’s startup ecosystem on the City Cast Pittsburgh podcast recently in the context of two high-profile startup failures there, Ford- and VW-backed Argo AI and robotic vertical farming outfit Fifth Season. You can give it a listen here.)

Ven Raju, the president and CEO of Innovation Works, a local startup accelerator and seed fund, said he’s seen the market grow 10x in the last decade and 6x in the last three years.

“The ecosystem is on a tremendous upward trajectory,” he added.



Read More:Pittsburgh’s AI expertise may give rise to an already growing startup market

2023-01-12 16:30:48

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Jack Ma To Give Up Control Of Ant Group After China’s Crackdown https://newsdaily.business/2023/01/07/jack-ma-to-give-up-control-of-ant-group-after-chinas-crackdown/ https://newsdaily.business/2023/01/07/jack-ma-to-give-up-control-of-ant-group-after-chinas-crackdown/#respond Sat, 07 Jan 2023 10:36:36 +0000 https://newsdaily.business/2023/01/07/jack-ma-to-give-up-control-of-ant-group-after-chinas-crackdown/ Ant Group’s founder Jack Ma will no longer control the Chinese fintech giant Hong Kong: Ant Group’s founder Jack Ma will no longer control the Chinese fintech giant after the firm’s shareholders agreed to implement a series of adjustments that will see him give up most of his voting rights, the group said on Saturday. […]]]>


Jack Ma To Give Up Control Of Ant Group After China's Crackdown

Ant Group’s founder Jack Ma will no longer control the Chinese fintech giant

Hong Kong:

Ant Group’s founder Jack Ma will no longer control the Chinese fintech giant after the firm’s shareholders agreed to implement a series of adjustments that will see him give up most of his voting rights, the group said on Saturday.

The move marks another big development after a regulatory crackdown that scuppered Ant’s $37 billion IPO in late 2020 and led to a forced restructuring of the financial technology behemoth.

“Jack Ma’s departure from Ant, a company he founded, shows the determination of the Chinese leadership to reduce the influence of large private investors. This trend will continue the erosion of the most productive parts of the Chinese economy,” Andre Collier, Managing Director, Orient Capital Research, Hong Kong.

“Despite official comments, Ant posed little risk to the financial system and was effective in arranging loans for small businesses, one of the main drivers of economic growth,” he added.

Duncan Clark, Chairman Of Investment Advisory Firm BDA, Beijing said, “Yes, it’s obviously significant if he is no longer the controlling shareholder. This in theory should pave the way for an IPO assuming the other key issue – oversight/ownership of data – is also resolved.”

“With the Chinese economy in a very febrile state, the government is looking to signal its commitment to growth, and the tech/private sectors are key to that as we know. At least Ant investors can (now) have some timetable for an exit after a long period of uncertainty.”

“If these voting arrangement changes are deemed as a change-of-control event under the A share and/or Hong Kong listing rules, Ant Group’s IPO process could be further delayed,” Weiheng Chen, Partner And Head of Greater China, Practice at law firm Wilson Sonsini, Hong Kong.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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Read More:Jack Ma To Give Up Control Of Ant Group After China’s Crackdown

2023-01-07 05:20:00

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Budget discipline would give most support to Indian rupee: Reuters poll https://newsdaily.business/2023/01/06/budget-discipline-would-give-most-support-to-indian-rupee-reuters-poll/ https://newsdaily.business/2023/01/06/budget-discipline-would-give-most-support-to-indian-rupee-reuters-poll/#respond Fri, 06 Jan 2023 03:58:20 +0000 https://newsdaily.business/2023/01/06/budget-discipline-would-give-most-support-to-indian-rupee-reuters-poll/ BENGALURU, Jan 6 (Reuters) – A budget that accelerates fiscal consolidation would give more support to the Indian rupee in the near term, according to a Reuters poll of FX analysts who forecast the currency would erase a fifth of last year’s losses over the next 12 months. A sell-off in emerging markets and a […]]]>


BENGALURU, Jan 6 (Reuters) – A budget that accelerates fiscal consolidation would give more support to the Indian rupee in the near term, according to a Reuters poll of FX analysts who forecast the currency would erase a fifth of last year’s losses over the next 12 months.

A sell-off in emerging markets and a widening fiscal and current account deficit, exacerbated by rising oil prices – India’s biggest import bill – pushed the rupee down over 10% last year, its worst annual performance since 2013.

A majority of FX analysts, 11 of 17, said a Feb. 1 budget that focuses on fiscal consolidation would help the Indian rupee the most in the near term. Six chose a growth supportive budget.

“If we do get a budget that at least represents fiscal responsibility and then that responsibility is actually delivered, that could be an environment where the Indian rupee would actually do better than our actual forecasts,” Brendan McKenna, international economist and FX strategist at Wells Fargo, said.

A separate Reuters poll of economists expected the government to focus on fiscal consolidation in its budget, the last full one before a 2024 general election, as slowing economic growth would limit it from spending more.

The rupee , which has depreciated every year over the last decade barring 2017, is forecast to rebound and gain about 2% to 81.00 in a year from about 82.56 on Thursday, the Jan. 3-5 poll of over 34 foreign exchange analysts showed.

None of the respondents expected the rupee to be stronger than 75 per dollar, where it started 2022, at any point this year.

“We have moved to a new normal now which would be above 80,” said Sakshi Gupta, principal economist at HDFC Bank.

“Even in the worst case scenario, where you see a deep recession in the U.S., the Fed hikes rates to 6%-6.5%, the commodity prices spike up again or there are geopolitical tensions – I think the rupee then moves to above 84-85.”

While global commodity prices and the U.S. dollar retreated in the last quarter of 2022, the rupee failed to fully capitalise on the fall. Worsening external balances and concerns over a drop in exports weighed.

“While India’s FX buffer should be sufficient to shield the economy against any major external shock, we expect the RBI to become more prudent in H2FY23 while intervening in the FX market, and allow the rupee to move in sync with global trends,” said Upasna Bhardwaj, chief economist at Kotak Mahindra Bank.

When asked what was the greater risk to their rupee forecasts over the coming year, respondents were nearly split with nine predicting it ends higher than they foresee and seven saying lower.

The fiscal deficit widened to a record 9.3% of gross domestic product in 2020-21 but was expected to decrease to 6.4% this fiscal year, according to the Indian government. Despite the predicted narrowing, it would still likely be one of the widest among its major regional peers.

Abhishek Upadhyay, senior economist at ICICI Securities Primary Dealership, said the “fiscal deficit is still too high and needs to be reduced” for the rupee to find some support.

“High fiscal deficit will hurt the savings-investment balance, curb improvement in current account deficit, and complicate the RBI’s efforts to temper inflation pressures.”

(For other stories from the January Reuters foreign exchange poll:)

Reporting by Anant Chandak and Vivek Mishra; Polling by Veronica Khongwir, Madhumita Gokhale and Susobhan Sarkar; Editing by Hari Kishan, Jonathan Cable and Barbara Lewis

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.



Read More:Budget discipline would give most support to Indian rupee: Reuters poll

2023-01-06 03:08:21

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4 reasons to give up defending fossil fuels https://newsdaily.business/2023/01/03/4-reasons-to-give-up-defending-fossil-fuels/ https://newsdaily.business/2023/01/03/4-reasons-to-give-up-defending-fossil-fuels/#respond Tue, 03 Jan 2023 02:54:24 +0000 https://newsdaily.business/2023/01/03/4-reasons-to-give-up-defending-fossil-fuels/ There are at least four reasons that businesses, asset managers, individual investors and governments should avoid fossil fuels: They are unacceptable risks. Coal, oil and natural gas are dead industries walking. They are threatened by the international commitment to end carbon pollution, competition from cleaner and cheaper renewable fuels, and the conclusion of climate scientists […]]]>


There are at least four reasons that businesses, asset managers, individual investors and governments should avoid fossil fuels:

  • They are unacceptable risks. Coal, oil and natural gas are dead industries walking. They are threatened by the international commitment to end carbon pollution, competition from cleaner and cheaper renewable fuels, and the conclusion of climate scientists that most of their remaining underground reserves must stay there.
  • Fossil fuels have sacrificed their social licenses to operate. Companies must work in socially acceptable ways to earn and keep a social license. They must maintain the ongoing support of their stakeholders and the communities in which they operate. But pollution from power plants and vehicles still makes it dangerous for 40 percent of Americans to breathe. In addition, an upcoming government report concludes the U.S. is getting warmer 68 percent faster than the planet as a whole, and climate change is causing “far-reaching and worsening” disasters in every region of the country.
  • Fossil fuels can’t compete with renewable energy. They periodically damage the economy with price and supply shocks. Taxpayers defer taxes revenues of more than $20 billion annually to support fossil energy production.When we include environmental and social costs, the Group of 20 (G20) countries subsidize fossil-fuel subsidies with nearly $600 billion annually, according to the International Monetary Fund.

In addition, “Subsidies have sizable fiscal costs (leading to higher taxes/borrowing or lower spending), promote inefficient allocation of an economy’s resources (hindering growth), encourage pollution (contributing to climate change and premature deaths from local air pollution), and are not well targeted at the poor (mostly benefiting higher income households),” the IMF points out.

For reasons like these, more than one-third of the world’s publicly traded companies have resolved to achieve net-zero carbon pollution by 2050, the goal of the Paris climate agreement. In addition, nearly 300 asset managers have promised to allocate funds in line with this goal.

These commitments are having an effect. Analysts report that renewable energy and energy efficiency have dominated global investments in the power sector in recent years. In contrast, oil, gas and coal investments remained below their levels before the pandemic in 2019.

Nevertheless, several Republican governors and attorneys general appear to be bullying companies and investment managers into keeping or putting money into fossil fuels. Some are threatening to stop contracting with businesses that don’t invest in fossil energy and withhold pension funds from those companies. They also ridicule and punish companies that have adopted climate-conscious policies known as ESG (referring to environmental, social and governance), which obligate corporations to be attentive to social and environmental problems.

For example, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) has publicly ridiculed companies with ESG policies. Florida is withdrawing $2 billion of its retirement funds from the prominent asset manager BlackRock because of its involvement in ESG-type investments. Nineteen Republican state attorneys general have accused BlackRock of “collusion” because it participates in a global climate-action initiative.

In Congress, five Republican senators reportedly notified the nation’s largest law firms that they are at risk when participating in “climate cartels and other ill-advised ESG schemes.”

Kentucky’s Attorney General is reportedly trying to get hold of documents identifying corporations that have joined Climate Action 100+, an initiative in which some of the world’s largest corporate greenhouse gas emitters are taking action to mitigate climate change.

However, environmentally and socially conscious investing is a profitable growth sector that’s “crushing the traditional investment benchmarks,” according to Bloomberg analysis.

The professional services company Deloitte says corporate ESG policies respond to customer demand and the “goals of most stakeholders, which includes leaders, employees, customers, investors, communities, and regulators.”

Deloitte predicts the demand for “ESG-aligned investment strategies” will continue expanding. By 2024, it says, ESP policies will apply to more than half of professionally managed assets, and more firms will prioritize this type of reporting in 2023. (Professionally managed assets reached a record $123 trillion worldwide as 2022 began.)

Interestingly, the GOP’s “war on woke” revealshow two-faced some Republicans are about these issues. On the one hand, they say they believe market forces rather than government policy should shape the economy. Free-market capitalists point out that government energy subsidies distort market signals.

On the other hand, Republicans and Democrats both have faithfully supported fossil-fuel subsidies for more than 100 years. Republicans in the 117th Congress ignored President Joe Biden’s budget proposals to end several tax giveaways for fossil fuel producers. Their repeal would have saved taxpayers $121 billion over the next decade.

To be fair, the government subsidizes renewable energy, too, and has since the 1970s oil crises. Most recently, the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 contains $325 billion in tax incentives for solar, wind and other renewable resources over the next 10 years. But because mitigating climate change is so urgent, federal help for zero-carbon energy is necessary to accelerate its market diffusion faster than market forces alone would do.

It’s easy to understand the reluctance of oil companies to walk away from trillions of dollars’ worth of technically recoverable oil and gas reserves. But climate scientists warn that most of those reserves must remain in the ground to keep climate change from becoming irreversible.Fossil energy companies and their investors need not go broke if they turn to the limitless technically recoverable reserves above ground: sunlight, wind and water. Scientists expect the sun to keep burning for another 5 billion years.

These Republican governors and attorneys general are engaged in the antithesis of free-market capitalism. It seems they are willing to use the tactics of thugs, with a strategy of coercion and heading toward social extortion.

Real free market capitalists would conclude that if fossil fuels can’t sustain their social licenses and their appeal to investors, they no longer belong in America’s energy portfolio.

William S. Becker is a former U.S. Department of Energy central regional director who administered energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies programs, and he also served as special assistant to the department’s assistant secretary of energy efficiency and renewable energy. Becker is also executive director of the Presidential Climate Action Project, a nonpartisan initiative founded in 2007 that works with national thought leaders to develop recommendations for the White House as well as House and Senate committees on climate and energy policies. The project is not affiliated with the White House.



Read More:4 reasons to give up defending fossil fuels

2023-01-03 01:00:00

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Bumper profits at KitKat maker Nestlé? They should give consumers a break | Phillip Inman https://newsdaily.business/2023/01/02/bumper-profits-at-kitkat-maker-nestle-they-should-give-consumers-a-break-phillip-inman/ https://newsdaily.business/2023/01/02/bumper-profits-at-kitkat-maker-nestle-they-should-give-consumers-a-break-phillip-inman/#respond Mon, 02 Jan 2023 16:17:56 +0000 https://newsdaily.business/2023/01/02/bumper-profits-at-kitkat-maker-nestle-they-should-give-consumers-a-break-phillip-inman/

Nestlé is on course to report its best profit figures since 2008 when full-year figures appear next month. The Swiss maker of consumer favourites from KitKat to Nespresso coffee is expected to shrug off the cost of living crisis affecting consumers in most of its big markets to keep shareholders smiling in 2023.

US rival Procter & Gamble, which competes on several fronts with Nestlé, has performed a similar magic trick. Back in October, the maker of Pampers nappies said average prices across its product lines rose 9% in the first quarter to the end of September, more than offsetting a 3% fall in sales.

A similarly upbeat message is expected from Jon Moeller, the chair, president and chief executive at P&G, who received a 44% pay rise in 2022 to $17.7m (£14.7m), when the firm’s second-quarter results are announced later this month.

Both firms have committed themselves to maintaining or increasing dividend payments and buying back shares to reduce the number in the market and thereby increase their value.

Increasing sales and maintaining profits for shareholders appear to be at the expense of wage rises.

Across all industries, salaries have increased by just 4% this year, according to data covering private sector pay deals. Only the workers in the financial services sector and those in business services such as accountancy are winning in the wage war, pushing the official figure for average earnings growth to 6.9%.

On the other hand, profitability remains strong across most sectors, which begs the question, why are workers and consumers allowing investors to be largely untouched by the pandemic and the fallout from the Ukraine war? Why accept across-the-board price rises when it contributes to the worst fall in living standards in a century?

P&G raised prices by 9% and the value of organic sales increased by 7%. At Nestlé’s headquarters on Lake Geneva, executives found that almost 90% of the organic sales growth of 8.5% was the result of product price rises to maintain an underlying trading operating profit margin of about 17%.

As a reward for investors, the boss Mark Schneider said the company was aiming to repurchase 20bn Swiss francs (£18bn) worth of shares from 2022 to 2024 and said it had already bought about half to help bolster its share price.

The world’s largest consumer product makers are not alone: there are similar stories across many industries where wages are being held in check while the prices charged by the firm are rising, improving profitability and shareholder dividends.

Obvious examples include the energy companies that have made huge windfall profits from selling gas, electricity, diesel and petrol over the past two years.

They face a windfall tax in recognition of their profiteering. The EU has a tax and so does the UK.

A similar one-off “war tax” on consumer goods makers would pose insurmountable problems, which is why consumers should consider a boycott.

Otherwise we all become victims of marketing that tells us higher prices are inevitable and here to stay.

Nestlé and P&G tell shareholders that the cost of basic raw materials continues to eat into profits, but celebrate how their price rises have offset those bills.

We know Nestlé’s Schneider, who has run the company for more than five years and earns about £9.5m a year, is also threatened by another potential cost – that workers’ salaries should keep pace with inflation.

In October he said: “I worry about the development of wages.”

Asked what pay rise Nestlé workers enjoyed in 2022, a spokesperson for Nestlé declined to comment.

Schneider was one of many company bosses who urged central banks to raise interest rates in an effort to bring down inflation.

However, inflation is not falling quickly enough to prevent another year of sharp decline in living standards, should employers continue to keep a tight rein on wage increases.

Rip-off Britain was a slogan that gained traction after the 2008 financial crisis when there was a suspicion that copy-cat price rises were pushing inflation higher than it needed to be. It’s time for consumer groups to dig out those old posters and start picketing.



Read More:Bumper profits at KitKat maker Nestlé? They should give consumers a break | Phillip Inman

2023-01-02 14:43:00

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These Companies Are Forced to Give At Least 90% of Their Profits to Investors Each Year https://newsdaily.business/2023/01/01/these-companies-are-forced-to-give-at-least-90-of-their-profits-to-investors-each-year/ https://newsdaily.business/2023/01/01/these-companies-are-forced-to-give-at-least-90-of-their-profits-to-investors-each-year/#respond Sun, 01 Jan 2023 09:55:50 +0000 https://newsdaily.business/2023/01/01/these-companies-are-forced-to-give-at-least-90-of-their-profits-to-investors-each-year/ In 2017, business magnate Warren Buffett did something that’s somewhat unusual for him. He poured hundreds of millions of dollars into a real estate investment. Buffett has been dismissive of real estate investing in the past. He’s called it a “lousy investment” in part because real estate can be expensive to maintain. Real estate also […]]]>


In 2017, business magnate Warren Buffett did something that’s somewhat unusual for him. He poured hundreds of millions of dollars into a real estate investment.

Buffett has been dismissive of real estate investing in the past. He’s called it a “lousy investment” in part because real estate can be expensive to maintain. Real estate also often requires “sweat equity” or the physical effort needed to upgrade properties or simply keep them from falling into disrepair.

Yet in 2017, Berkshire Hathaway Inc. invested $377 million in a real estate company, and in 2020, it scooped up another 5.8 million shares.

The company in question is STORE Capital (NYSE: STOR), a real estate investment trust (REIT) that controls over 3,000 properties across the U.S., including restaurant sites, manufacturing facilities, preschools, auto repair shops and gyms.

STORE has been on a dividend hot streak since it began sending payouts in 2014, raising its dividend by 259% in the time since. It now pays a yield of 5.17%, or nearly three times as great as the average 1.82% yield offered by S&P 500 firms.

STORE achieved this phenomenal dividend streak thanks to a special designation in the U.S. tax code. As a REIT, it’s exempt from corporate taxes on its property holdings — as long as it returns at least 90% of its profits back to investors in the form of dividends each year.

REITs were hit hard during the pandemic, but they’ve since returned to favor. In November 2020, billionaire investor Bruce Flatt, known as Canada’s Buffett for the more than $500 billion he’s managed successfully at Brookfield Asset Management Inc. for decades, told Bloomberg he considers REITs to be the best bargains in today’s market.

In the two years since, more billionaires have warmed to REITs. Steve Schwarzman, CEO of the $41.2 billion private equity firm Blackstone Group, launched a real estate flagship fund with the goal of raising $30.3 billion. Bill Ackman of Pershing Capital, who nimbly traded around the pandemic-induced market crash and subsequent rebound to make $3.8 billion in profits, is now recommending REITs to hedge against inflation. And Paul Tudor Jones, who predicted the 1987 stock market crash and made $100 million form it, scooped up hundreds of thousands of shares of REITs last quarter.

The Lazy Way to be a Landlord

Real estate investment trusts offer a way to earn money on properties without worrying about upkeep — no calls from tenants about broken air conditioning, no property taxes and none of the sweat equity headaches that personal land ownership entails.

But REITs aren’t a silver bullet. The Vanguard Real Estate ETF, a fund tracking REITs, has returned 48% since January 2012. The S&P 500, meanwhile, has logged returns of 214%.

Lofty dividend payouts may be what some investors prioritize over capital appreciation. But at least one billionaire, Jeff Bezos, is sidestepping the REIT craze for an even more aggressive way to play real estate.

For income investors looking to opt out of the chores of property ownership — and forgo a dividend yield to target capital appreciation — crowdfunding can be an answer. Benzinga has compiled a Real Estate Offering Screener to help readers find and keep tabs on passive real estate opportunities here.

Original story found here.

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© 2023 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.



Read More:These Companies Are Forced to Give At Least 90% of Their Profits to Investors Each Year

2022-12-31 21:29:12

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Incoming coalition reportedly to give Chief Rabbinate control over IDF’s chief rabbi https://newsdaily.business/2022/12/25/incoming-coalition-reportedly-to-give-chief-rabbinate-control-over-idfs-chief-rabbi/ https://newsdaily.business/2022/12/25/incoming-coalition-reportedly-to-give-chief-rabbinate-control-over-idfs-chief-rabbi/#respond Sun, 25 Dec 2022 15:53:46 +0000 https://newsdaily.business/2022/12/25/incoming-coalition-reportedly-to-give-chief-rabbinate-control-over-idfs-chief-rabbi/ A coalition deal between the far-right Religious Zionism party and Likud reportedly includes a clause that would move control of the office of the military’s chief rabbi from the Israel Defense Forces to the Chief Rabbinate of Israel. According to Hebrew-language media reports over the weekend, the agreement says the incoming government would advance a […]]]>


A coalition deal between the far-right Religious Zionism party and Likud reportedly includes a clause that would move control of the office of the military’s chief rabbi from the Israel Defense Forces to the Chief Rabbinate of Israel.

According to Hebrew-language media reports over the weekend, the agreement says the incoming government would advance a bill aimed at “strengthening the status of the military rabbi.”

The bill would give the Chief Rabbinate control over the appointment process for the IDF chief rabbi. Currently, the IDF chief rabbi, a brigadier general, is appointed by the IDF chief of staff.

The appointment would reportedly be made by a committee headed by the Sephardic chief rabbi and composed of government representatives, a head of a yeshiva, the head of the IDF’s Personnel Directorate, and a former IDF chief rabbi, among others.

Additionally, the bill would reportedly stipulate that the IDF chief rabbi will be subject to the halachic — Jewish law — rulings of the Chief Rabbinate.

The Military Rabbinate and Chief Rabbinate currently clash on several halachic topics, such as conversion to Judaism, women serving in the IDF, violating laws of the Sabbath for operational needs, and burial of non-Jewish fallen troops.

Sephardic Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef speaks at the National Headquarters of the Israel Police in Jerusalem on September 22, 2022. (Olivier Fitoussi/Flash90)

Another part of the bill would reportedly raise the IDF chief rabbi’s rank to major general. The move would ensure that the IDF chief rabbi can always participate in meetings of the IDF’s General Staff Forum, reserved for major generals and the IDF chief of staff.

The IDF chief rabbi was historically a major general, but in 2000 the rank was lowered to brigadier general. The tenure is typically five years, but is often extended to six or more.

Former IDF chief of staff Gadi Eisenkot slammed the planned bill, saying it would be bad for the army. “Faced with security challenges, we do not have the privilege of turning the IDF into a bargaining chip in coalition negotiations,” Eisenkot, a Knesset member for the center-right National Union party, told the Kan public broadcaster on Friday.

The modern Orthodox nonprofit group Ne’emanei Torah Va’Avodah also condemned the plan, saying in a statement Sunday it would “lead to the politicization of the military rabbinate and damage the military chain of command.”

“A military rabbi is a profession that requires expertise, military experience, and familiarity with the needs of the system and its special halachic areas,” it said. “Moreover, it is unthinkable for rabbis whose sons do not serve in the IDF to issue rulings on Jewish law for those who do serve.”

Likud leader MK Benjamin Netanyahu (left) speaks with Religious Zionism party head MK Bezalel Smotrich during a vote in the Knesset, December 20, 2022. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

The IDF chief rabbi bill is the latest in a series of planned moves by the incoming government to change the control politicians have over the military.

Bezalel Smotrich, who leads the far-right Religious Zionism party, is set to be given a new independent office within the Defense Ministry to oversee areas of the West Bank fully controlled by Israel, known as Area C.

Smotrich will be able to appoint the generals leading the hybrid civil-military Coordinator for Government Activities in the Territories and its office overseeing many settlement issues, the Civil Administration, with Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu’s approval.

Currently, the major general in charge of COGAT is appointed by the defense minister at the recommendation of the IDF chief of staff, and the brigadier general overseeing the Civil Administration is appointed by the IDF chief of staff.

In addition, far-rןght Otzma Yehudit leader Itamar Ben Gvir, who is set to become the minister in charge of police, will take control of the West Bank Border Police. The unit is currently subordinate to the army and Defense Ministry.

Netanyahu announced Wednesday night that he had succeeded in forming a coalition with the far-right Otzma Yehudit, Religious Zionism and Noam, and his long-time ultra-Orthodox partners Shas and UTJ, which together won 64 seats in the 120-seat Knesset in November’s election.

However, full coalition deals have yet to be signed by the parties, with several outstanding issues remaining.


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Read More:Incoming coalition reportedly to give Chief Rabbinate control over IDF’s chief rabbi

2022-12-25 11:32:26

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Economic frailty could soon give Bitcoin a new role in global trade https://newsdaily.business/2022/12/24/economic-frailty-could-soon-give-bitcoin-a-new-role-in-global-trade/ https://newsdaily.business/2022/12/24/economic-frailty-could-soon-give-bitcoin-a-new-role-in-global-trade/#respond Sat, 24 Dec 2022 03:31:52 +0000 https://newsdaily.business/2022/12/24/economic-frailty-could-soon-give-bitcoin-a-new-role-in-global-trade/ The chaos we’ve experienced in global markets this year — global geopolitical upheaval magnified by the confluence of broken supply chains, inflation and heavy national debt loads — seems to signal the beginning of a new era. All of this is within the context of the United States dollar serving as the primary global reserve […]]]>


The chaos we’ve experienced in global markets this year — global geopolitical upheaval magnified by the confluence of broken supply chains, inflation and heavy national debt loads — seems to signal the beginning of a new era. All of this is within the context of the United States dollar serving as the primary global reserve currency, currently accounting for about 40% of global exports.

But monetary history tells us that multiple global reserve currencies can exist at one time. Many countries are actively seeking a reserve settlement that is insulated from global political strife. Bitcoin (BTC) may fit the bill, and if it is adopted as an alternative reserve currency — even at the margins — we will see the unleashing of Bitcoin-based trade and the rise of a new geopolitical reality.

The Bitcoin network is ready for this moment.

What is Bitcoin-based trade?

There are many reserve currencies in the world, from the U.S. dollar to the Chinese yuan, the Japanese yen and more. But the dollar is the largest by far in terms of popularity in use for exchange.

Related: 5 reasons 2023 will be a tough year for global markets

Bitcoin-based trade focuses on the idea that BTC could also function as a reserve currency running in parallel with other reserve currencies. The resulting geopolitical reality would be one in which supply and demand are at the forefront of leverage between nations. Those that possess the raw materials, manufacturing capabilities or any other number of critical inputs for global commerce would then be capable of negotiating based on the demand for those inputs. This would be enforced by the unit of exchange, Bitcoin, remaining a largely apolitical settlement network.

The importance of timing

There are many challenges facing the global economy. Two, in particular, are the products of the once-in-a-generation alignment of unique circumstances. The first is the need for an efficient, relatively apolitical, antifragile reserve currency system. The second is the increasingly challenging requirements for critical inputs for the global economy. These are inputs like raw materials, manufacturing costs, specialized manufacturing processes, the protection of intellectual property, etc. The sources for critical inputs that are necessary for all global commerce are in transition. The timing might just be right for geopolitical leverage that has traditionally come from the global need for dollars to be dramatically dampened by a new unit of exchange, Bitcoin.

Whether the dollar should be displaced from the current reserve currency hierarchy is a subject for another time. Even just a few years ago, considering Bitcoin as a meaningful addition to existing reserve currencies was impossible. Nevertheless, Bitcoin is now a viable entrant because of the size and level of decentralization of the network.

Beyond any public skepticism or regulatory inertia, the Bitcoin blockchain was too slow and too energy intensive to be a viable global reserve currency. Fast forward to today, the network possesses a feature set that can power unique solutions needed for exactly this purpose.

Simply put, the Bitcoin network is getting more robust and multifunctional by the day. The rise of the lightning network makes it simple for participants to actively manage inbound and outbound liquidity. This matters because as countries and large businesses adopt the Bitcoin network, smaller countries and companies will follow. The Lightning Network continues to expand rapidly and will soon be capable of handling this volume quickly enough to compete with fiat currencies at multiple levels of trade.

Related: 4 legislative predictions for crypto in 2023

The second major challenge is the increasing need for critical inputs from the global economy. These are inputs that represent the supply side of the market. This includes raw materials like oil, computer chips, lithium and aluminum — and very specific manufacturing processes that require a high degree of specialization or manufacturing that is extremely inexpensive. So too included is the ability to legally protect ideas. There are many categories of critical supply-side inputs, but the bottom line is this: Without using the leverage of monetary policy and restricted trade settlement, the ability of those countries that possess critical supply-side inputs to negotiate geopolitically is dramatically increased.

The seachange that this would unlock cannot be overstated. This would be that entities like the Bank of International Settlements (the bank for central banks), the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and many other global financial institutions would lose some of their political power. This is important because, as history has shown, these institutions exercise outsized political influence that is misaligned with the economic reality they profess to be upholding.

Let’s take the example of the IMF. Alex Gladstein has done extensive research to better understand the complex relationship between entities like the BIS, IMF, World Bank and the nations to which they extend loans. According to Gladstein, the IMF has extended loans “to 41 countries in Africa, 28 countries in Latin America, 20 countries in Asia, eight countries in the Middle East and five countries in Europe, affecting 3 billion people, or what was then two-thirds of the global population.”

Related: Brazil could cement its status as an economic leader thanks to 2024 CBDC move

In order to do business with the IMF, a country must join the IMF. One of the requirements to join is a deposit denominated in the nation’s native currency as well as “harder assets” like gold, dollars or European currencies. There are 190 countries that have joined to date. When a member nation needs a loan for an emergency or large infrastructure project, they typically receive that loan at interest rate levels and on payment terms that are hard to meet. Countries that don’t meet this obligation are penalized. Penalties range but oftentimes are levered in the form of interest rate hikes, currency devaluation, restrictions on government spending and more.

So, the borrowing nation becomes more indebted and restricted in its ability to actually pay the loan. Recall that the dollar is the global reserve currency. It is the United States that has the most heavily weighted vote within the IMF. And thus, it seems, the global monetary hierarchy is reinforced and maintained through indebtedness.

Considering this through the lens of game theory, it makes sense. Those who are in power and stand to benefit from that power are going to do what they can and feel they must to maintain that position. All of this was business as usual until 2022, when critical inputs started to become more important than the unit of exchange used to trade and direct them.

Leverage has shifted

The race is on to reposition within an emerging new paradigm. Critical inputs matter more than ever. Against the backdrop of shifting U.S. monetary policy, leverage just may be shifting. Aggressive rises in interest rates are wreaking havoc in global markets. Pressure is building on countries that have dollar-denominated loans — like those from the IMF. But many of those countries possess critical inputs that the world needs. Countries like Russia, China, India and Saudi Arabia are now actively seeking alternatives to the dollar. Market analysts like Luke Gromen think that a transition to an alternative is certain.

Related: 5 tips for investing during a global recession

Gromen suggests that the short-run alternative will be gold. In the medium-to-long term, it could be an asset like Bitcoin. Alternatives can be explored is due to the shifting leverage that interested countries have and are now willing to utilize fully. Gold is considered a viable option because historical precedence suggests it. But as countries recognize the features that Bitcoin possesses, the pivot to gold may very well be temporary.

And if that happens and we see a move toward Bitcoin-based trade, all bets are off. A new geopolitical reality will emerge. A multipolar global trade regime will give way to new alliances between nations. New alliances will mean new trading partners will build new trade routes. Monetary policy as a method of leverage will be defanged. Those countries that possess critical inputs will have leverage like they never have before.

The transition will be chaotic, and the result is impossible to predict. But one thing is certain: We are bearing witness to a once-in-a-lifetime reshuffling of global commerce.

Now is the time to pay close attention to the place that Bitcoin might take in that paradigm.

Joseph Bradley is the head of business development at Heirloom, a software-as-a-service startup. He started in the cryptocurrency industry in 2014 as an independent researcher before going to work at Gem (which was later acquired by Blockdaemon) and subsequently moving to the hedge fund industry. He received his master’s degree from the University of Southern California with a focus in portfolio construction and alternative asset management.

This article is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal or investment advice. The views, thoughts and opinions expressed here are the author’s alone and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.



Read More:Economic frailty could soon give Bitcoin a new role in global trade

2022-12-23 23:10:09

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