Market Watch

New York City Mayor Eric AdamsPhotographer: Jeenah Moon/Bloomberg New York City Mayor Eric Adams on Monday will announce a new partnership with Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Mastercard Inc. that will create the largest public-private loan fund for small businesses in the city’s history. The $75 million NYC Small Business Opportunity Fund will offer businesses loans ranging from $2,000 to $250,000 at a fixed below-market interest rate of 4%, regardless of the loan size. The program comes as many small businesses that struggled to stay open during the pandemic are still fighting to bounce back. “Small businesses throughout our city have been disproportionately impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic, and helping them get back on their feet is critical to an equitable recovery,” Adams said in a statement. More than 4,000 private businesses, including chain stores and retail banks, shuttered in New York from 2019 to 2021 during the height of the pandemic, the city comptroller’s office said. About 1,500 local businesses will be able to apply for the new loans, exempt from credit score minimums and application fees, according to the city. Christine Noh, owner of the apparel store Nohble, which was founded in 1982 by her parents, said […]

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FILE(Pixabay) TOPEKA, Kan. (WIBW) – A business known for passing savings onto customers in Topeka will soon open a new location in Lawrence. Officials at ReHome Stores – based in Topeka – say they will open a new location in Lawrence at 10 a.m. on Jan. 25. The new location can be found at 711 W. 23rd St. – in the Malls Shopping Center. The store will be open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Wednesday through Saturday. Staff said the new storefront will feature a variety of discounted furniture, home goods, toys, cosmetics, kitchen goods and more. Employees at the new location are currently behind hired with an additional 5 – 8 jobs to be added to the community. “The success and growth of ReHome would not be possible without our loyal customers and incredible team members,” said Zach Haney, Owner of ReHome Stores. “I am so proud of our team and their commitment to create the ultimate customer experience. We are also grateful for the opportunity to serve the people of Lawrence.” ReHome said its mission is to save money for customers on the things they love while the ultimate customer experience is created around them. It […]

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DUBAI, Jan 23 (Reuters) – Investment bank Lazard Ltd said on Monday it hired Wassim Al-Khatib as chief executive officer of the bank’s investment banking business for the Middle East and North Africa. Al-Khatib will also be CEO of Lazard Saudi Arabia, the statement said. Al-Khatib joins Lazard from Citigroup where he headed its business in Saudi Arabia and prior to that he was the head of National Commercial Bank’s investment banking business where he was a key dealmaker on oil giant Aramco’s, initial public offering. International banks have been courting Saudi Arabia ever since the kingdom outlined plans to float Aramco, resulting in a landmark $29.4 billion share sale before the COVID-19 pandemic. The Middle East has been a bright spot of activity in an otherwise gloomy year for equity capital markets. Companies have raised some $21.9 billion through IPOs in the area in 2022, more than half the total for the wider EMEA region, which also includes Europe and Africa, according to Dealogic data. In particular, Saudi Arabia has witnessed a string of IPOs amid a government-led privatisation programme that has also seen state entities shed some of their holdings in listed firms, encouraging local companies and […]

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Layoffs are making headlines. What’s really going on in the job market London CNN — Spotify (SPOT) said Monday that it will cut 6% of its workforce to reduce costs, joining tech companies including Amazon (AMZN) and Microsoft (MSFT) in slashing headcount as the global economy slows . In a letter to employees posted on the company’s website, CEO Daniel Ek took full responsibility for the job cuts, which he called “difficult but necessary.” “Like many other leaders, I hoped to sustain the strong tailwinds from the pandemic and believed that our broad global business and lower risk to the impact of a slowdown in ads would insulate us. In hindsight, I was too ambitious in investing ahead of our revenue growth,” he said. The Stockholm-headquartered music streaming business had about 9,800 employees globally as of September 30, according to an earnings report. The company’s stock, which has nearly halved in value over the past 12 months, gained more than 4% in premarket trading in New York. Spotify’s share price has risen 24% since the start of the year, Refinitiv data shows. Over the past few months, major tech companies have swiftly reversed a pandemic hiring spree that saw […]

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Photo: ©IQONCEPT – STOCK.ADOBE.COM KANSAS CITY — Accurately predicting commodity and ingredient prices in January for the year ahead is nearly impossible, but it is helpful to look at the factors that are expected to influence those markets. The three most obvious market movers are COVID-19 (still), war and weather, with the latter always a key factor on a regional if not on a global scale. COVID is not going away anytime soon. After being discovered in late 2019, it came to global prominence in 2020 and by late 2021 had claimed more than 4.6 million lives from more than 200 million confirmed cases. It impacted many aspects of food production, distribution and consumption during that time, with some impact still evident as cases remain highly problematic in China. The pandemic’s impact on labor and logistics still is being sorted as those influential market elements seek a post-pandemic normal. Freight rates (mainly truck and ocean) have fallen sharply from COVID-induced record highs and are expected to continue to moderate in 2023. Labor is another matter, with nearly all industries (food processors and manufacturers included) noting some level of ongoing worker shortages adversely affecting output. Most prognosticators don’t see the […]

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London CNN — Citadel is now the most successful hedge fund ever after it made $16 billion last year — the biggest annual windfall on record. The Miami-based fund, founded and run by Ken Griffin, topped the 2022 ranking of the world’s best-performing hedge funds based on estimates from LCH Investments NV. Its huge gains came as many other investors suffered from steep drops in equity and bond markets. Citadel’s record-breaking performance last year took total gains for the fund since its inception to nearly $66 billion. That knocked Ray Dalio’s Bridgewater — with gains of $58.4 billion — off the top spot for the first time in seven years. Dalio’s fund made $6.2 billion last year, bringing total assets under management to $81 billion. Citadel manages $62 billion in assets. “[Citadel’s $16 billion profit] even surpasses [John] Paulson’s 2007 gain, which has been described as ‘the greatest trade ever,’” Rick Sopher, chairman of LCH Investments, said in a press release on Monday. Paulson, an investor, made $15 billion in 2007 after he bet that the value of securities backed by subprime mortgages would collapse, an event that helped trigger the global financial crisis. ESG funds had a terrible […]

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getty When I was a kid, I remember my father coming home late in the evening acting differently than usual: His face was full of worry and despair. Mom was holding his hand and rubbing his back, telling him that it was going to be okay. He had been laid off with no severance package, no outplacement services. This occurred every 18 to 24 months; my father worked construction, and as the projects ended, so would his employment. Our experience was not unique: The vast majority of families in our Rio Grande Valley, Texas, community experienced periodic to regular unemployment. About all of us were immigrants from Mexico and Latin America, striving for a better life and the American dream. However, most families in our community were living paycheck to paycheck, and layoffs with no job transition support put the whole family, and community, into significant stress. Layoffs Adversely Impact Minorities And Minority Communities The majority of people impacted by a layoff are in front-line positions, even now. Reduction-in-force (RIF) actions in the pandemic years impacted the front-line employees and supervisors, resulting in a disproportionate impact on underrepresented groups. From call center associates and hospitality staff to manufacturing employees […]

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Navigating the financial landscape has become a full-time job. For leaders of small and medium sized businesses hoping to get a grasp on the economic outlook for this new year, there seems to be one overriding point of agreement among the experts: 2023 is a year of uncertainty . And according to the latest National Federation of Independent Businesses (NFIB) , the small business optimism index declined 2.1 points—which is why now more than ever both businesses and the financial institutions serving those businesses need to adapt. In 2022, interest rates increased seven times , and inflation had its highest increase in 40 years —and as the outlook for 2023 remains challenging—the environment today requires constant navigation—both from banks and businesses. Successful entrepreneurs and managers are increasingly relying on banks like ours that specialize in helping businesses succeed to serve as their trusted advisors and help secure their market position amid the turbulence. Whether it be new financial regulations or economic fluctuations, working with a bank that is FDIC insured and has banking experts who can provide sage counsel and vital information to help you thrive in the year ahead is key. Here are three top suggestions that will […]

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Director of Operations at YEDI – A sector-agnostic business accelerator, venture capital fund and academic institute. getty A social mission drives your organization beyond making a profit as it allows you to have a bigger purpose, which provides better connection points for customers. I believe it’s a necessary addition to any business moving forward. A social mission is the deeper reason why your business exists in the first place. It’s the big “why” behind every single decision you make. Some big businesses that put their social mission at the forefront include Dr. Bronner’s and TOMS shoes. While you may know that you need a social mission, it takes dedication to figure out what your organization’s mission will be. Examples Of Social Missions To help further illustrate, an example of a business that puts its social mission at the forefront is Rethink Resource. Having worked with them through one of my company’s programs, I was able to see firsthand their focus on removing waste from landfills and helping other companies reach zero waste goals by offering waste diversion solutions for restaurants, food service waste hauling and grocery stores. Another example of a company I have worked with is 4Blind. They […]

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Jan 23 (Reuters) – Slower cloud spending by inflation-hit businesses is expected to stall the sales momentum at Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) and Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) and add to the troubles of the sector that laid off thousands this month. After years of blistering growth, most recently fuelled by remote working and studying during the pandemic, cloud demand has cooled in the past nine months and sales growth may slow further, analysts said. Reuters Graphics End-user cloud spending for services including those from the world’s largest providers – Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft’s Azure – is expected to grow 20.7% this year after 18.8% growth in 2022 and 52.8% in 2021, according to research firm Gartner. "A lot of companies are slowing their migration to the cloud or asking for a lower price on their existing plans," RBC Capital Markets analyst Rishi Jaluria said. Microsoft Chief Executive Satya Nadella said last week that businesses were exercising caution as "some parts of the world are in a recession and other parts are anticipating one". THE CONTEXT Azure is set to grow 31% in the December quarter, according to Visible Alpha, its weakest growth since the Redmond, Washington-based company started breaking […]

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