By Andrei Skvarsky. An analysis by investment bank Renaissance Capital suggests that the Russian economy’s degree of resilience practically rules out it being sent haywire by Ukraine-related sanctions the White House has on the table and that harsher sanctions might have exorbitant international costs for the United States. Sanctions formulated in a bill put before… Continue Reading
Tag Archives: US
VC firm Fort Ross announces interim closure of late-stage investment fund at $100m
By Andrei Skvarsky. Fort Ross Ventures, a Silicon Valley-based venture capital company, has announced an interim closure at $100m of a fund for the late-stage financing of startups. The Late-Stage Fund, whose declared target volume is $200m, is focused on investing in technology-enabled companies having a potential for an initial public offering (IPO) or a… Continue Reading
EVENTS: Three conferences not to be missed this month
European CLO Summit 2021, London, November 8. An in-person educational conference on collateralised loan obligation issues for investors, issuers, underwriters, rating agencies, lawyers and accountants. It will take place at the London Marriott Hotel Grosvenor Square. Extensive sanitary precautions are promised by the organisers, New York-headquartered Opal Group. Commodities Trading 2021, November 9-10. An online… Continue Reading
$150m raised in energy transition-focused IPO co-run by Sova Capital, EarlyBirdCapital
By Andrei Skvarsky. London-based brokerage Sova Capital and U.S. boutique investment bank EarlyBirdCapital have acted as joint book runners for a successful initial public offering (IPO) aimed at funding an energy transition project for emerging and frontier markets. Oxus Acquisition Corp., a Kazakh special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), raised $150m through its IPO on the… Continue Reading
EVENTS: Austin, Texas, to host three conferences in September organised by Opal Group
The Opal Group event organiser has three financial conferences in the United States scheduled for late next month, all of which would be in-person rather than virtual events and take place in Austin, Texas, with Opal promising maximum sanitary precautions. Emerging Managers Summit, September 27-28. The summit is expected to bring together new managers of… Continue Reading
ActivTrades: Inflation concerns a key world stock market factor
An analyst at London-based financial broker ActivTrades has argued that mixed developments in global stock markets this week are “broadly a reflection of lingering inflation concerns”. Investors expect an early rise in inflation in the United States because of the current successful vaccine rollouts there, technical analyst Pierre Veyret said in a statement. On the… Continue Reading
Cashless society idea disliked in the West but popular in Asia – MoneyTransfers.com
By Andrei Skvarsky. The idea of complete replacement of banknotes and coins with electronic money is by and large rejected by Western society but has majority support in larger Asian nations, research by the MoneyTransfers.com consultancy and polling company YouGov suggests. Just a quarter of Americans would like the United States to go cashless, according… Continue Reading
ActivTrades analyst: U.S. rates unlikely to rise, so dollar likely to edge down
A key analyst at London-headquartered financial brokerage ActivTrades on February 23 reiterated his earlier forecast that interest rates in the United States are unlikely to rise any time soon and that this would make the dollar edge down. “Any hints” to a Federal Reserve plan to raise interest rates in reacting to rising inflation could… Continue Reading
ActivTrades: Fed policy may push dollar further down after currency’s slight setback
A key analyst at London-based foreign exchange broker ActivTrades predicts possible further weakness for the U.S. dollar, which was on the back foot during the start of February 18 trade after winning some ground from other major currencies during the first half of the week. ActivTrades senior analyst Ricardo Evangelista bases his forecast on the… Continue Reading
ActivTrades: Pound doing better than dollar, euro, due to good start of UK Covid vaccination
London-based foreign exchange broker ActivTrades has reported the British pound to have done better than the dollar or the euro in early January 27 trading, attributing this to perceived investor optimism brought about by Britain’s successful start of Covid-19 vaccination. Markets see the successful roll-out of the AstraZeneca vaccine in Britain, where coronavirus has killed… Continue Reading
Waning of risk-on feelings getting the dollar up – ActivTrades
London-headquartered financial brokerageActivTrades argues that recent risk-on sentiments in financial markets about U.S. monetary policies are going away and that this explains the current edging up of the dollar versus other principal currencies. With the Democrats having won control of the White House and both houses of Congress, the Federal Reserve is likely to move… Continue Reading
TSC, Anatase co-design indices of water risk to corporate earnings
By Andrei Skvarsky. Financial consultancies Thomas Schumann Capital (TSC) and Anatase Ltd have developed, with support from financial markets data company Refinitiv, a family of indices to show whether the quantity and quality of water used by a company in its business pose any risk to its earnings and how serious such risk is. The… Continue Reading
ENLARGED: Debex launches debut online delinquent debt auction in Spain
By Andrei Skvarsky. Debex, an international company running online auctions for delinquent debts, has launched trading in Spain with the debt portfolio of Spanish microlender Prestamer being its first sale. Debex credits its trading with quickness, efficiency and convenience for clients. A buyer can get acquainted with a debt portfolio before it is put on… Continue Reading
Venio says its micro-loan app now usable throughout Philippines
By Andrei Skvarsky. A smartphone app for micro-borrowing developed by New York-headquartered company Venio primarily for unbanked individuals is now usable throughout the Philippines after an initial roll-out in its metropolitan areas in July. The app provides access to loans starting from $1, Venio, which is a global financial technology company, said in a statement.… Continue Reading
EVENTS: Reuters Events webinar to focus on what U.S. presidential election means to investors
A free webinar at noon EDT (1600 GMT) on August 12 to be hosted by Reuters Events will address risks and opportunities that November’s U.S. presidential election is bringing to investors. You may sign up for the webinar, “Risk Mitigation & The US Election”, here. If you can’t attend live, sign up in any case… Continue Reading
EVENTS: Dozens to speak during Opal-hosted virtual Investment Trends Summit on June 16
Senior figures in about three dozen entities, mostly commercial companies such as advisories, asset managers and investment firms, will take the floor during the seven-hour virtual Investment Trends Summit on June 16 hosted by New York-based Opal Group. Speakers will examine the global macroeconomic and geopolitical situation, look into developments in equity and fixed income… Continue Reading
US fund Princeville Capital provides Russian e-retailer with $50m convertible loan
By Andrei Skvarsky. US investment fund Princeville Capital has provided Russian online retailer Ozon with a $50m loan convertible into equity. The money came as part of a round of financing in which Ozon also received convertible loans totalling $100m from its main stakeholders Sistema and Baring Vostok, according to an Ozon statement. Sistema, which… Continue Reading
EVENTS: Scores to take the floor at Opal’s Family Office Winter Forum in NYC
Scores of speakers, among them prominent Wall Street figures, will address an audience of more than 500 at the Family Office Winter Forum in New York City on March 3 organised by Opal Group. The topics will include a global macroeconomic and geopolitical outlook, family governance, impact investing, and key challenges in seeking to preserve… Continue Reading
EVENTS: ESG no burden but source of more money – Jan 29 webinar
“Taking ESG Mainstream – Unlocking Financial Materiality”, a planned webinar at 1030-1130 GMT on January 29 to be hosted by Reuters Events, will focus on key points of environmental, social and government (ESG) criteria in investment decision-making. Please register for the webinar here. This interactive webinar is made in conjunction with ESG Investment Europe, a… Continue Reading
EVENTS: Investment Education Symposium, New Orleans, Louisiana, February 19-21
Pension system executives, financiers, actuaries, lawyers and others will talk about investing, fiduciary responsibility and the selection of money managers at the Investment Education Symposium in New Orleans, Louisiana, on February 19-21, 2020. Institutional investors such as pension funds, endowments and foundations are the main target audience of the event, co-organised by New York-based company… Continue Reading
Public Funds Summit in Arizona to focus on pensions
The Public Funds Summit in Scottsdale, Arizona, on January 6-8 will address a range of public sector issues, including investment and ethics regulations, and will focus on public pension funds. Although the conference, organised by New York-based Opal Group, will be a public sector event, attendance will not be limited to public sector figures. The… Continue Reading
Sberbank, 500 Startups finish second joint accelerator for Russian firms
By Andrei Skvarsky. Russia’s biggest lender Sberbank and San Francisco-based venture capital firm 500 Startups have finished the second seed accelerator in a joint programme for Russian technology start-ups. Sberbank invests in companies that take part in the programme. It pledged to put 6m roubles ($97,000) into each of 14 start-ups that were involved in… Continue Reading
Silicon Valley’s Fort Ross invests in Kryon to promote business automation in Russia
By Andrei Skvarsky. Silicon Valley-based Russia-focused company Fort Ross Ventures has made an investment in multinational technology firm Kryon that is expected to boost the use of its automation solutions by Russian businesses. Kryon has developed a platform that comprises process discovery and robotic process automation (RPA) tools. The platform is used by companies including… Continue Reading
California city hosting educational forum on marketplace lending
A city in California is hosting an educational forum on December 8-10 on marketplace lending and alternative financing for investors, asset managers, family offices, insurers, lawyers, regulators and others. The Marketplace Lending & Alternative Financing Summit in Dana Point has dozens of topics on its agenda. They include online lending trends in the United States… Continue Reading
One of Inflexion’s portfolio firms makes five buyouts in November
By Andrei Skvarsky. British investment company Inflexion Private Equity has announced that its portfolio company Radius Payment Solutions, a fuel card manager, made five acquisitions in November. Inflexion owns a minority stake in Radius, which is based in Britain and has offices in various parts of Europe. Radius’s five acquisitions are two vehicle tracking companies,… Continue Reading
Bankers, pension trustees, consultants, lawyers to gather at Alternative Investing Summit in California
Bankers, consultants, lawyers and others are going to get together at an alternative investing conference in California early in December to look at a range of issues such as risks, asset allocation options, and cost cutting options. The agenda for the Alternative Investing Summit in Dana Point on December 4-6 also includes opportunities in emerging… Continue Reading
Marlin announces new investments
By Andrei Skvarsky. Investment company Marlin Equity Partners has announced that it has bought out Whitlock, a systems integrator and technology management firm, and that it has made a growth equity investment in regulatory compliance software provider SmartSearch. Marlin, a global company with more than $6.7bn of capital under management, has completed more than 150… Continue Reading
RenCap rehires Alexander Vengranovich to oversee telecoms research
By Andrei Skvarsky. Alexander Vengranovich, who was a real estate analyst at Renaissance Capital in 2007-2008, has returned to the Moscow-based investment bank, this time as global head of telecoms research. Continue Reading
Californian city to host private wealth management conference
Senior business executives and consultants from all over the United States are going to delve into key investment and wealth preservation issues at the Private Wealth Management Summit, an event in Rancho Mirage, California, on June 3-5 organised by the marcus evans company. Continue Reading