Market Watch

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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Editorial Note: We earn a commission from partner links on Forbes Advisor. Commissions do not affect our editors’ opinions or evaluations. If you enjoy business travel benefits and rewards, watch for the new U.S. Bank Business Altitude™ Connect World Elite Mastercard®*. This unique travel rewards card combines earnings of up to 5 rewards points per dollar on purchases, a quarterly $25 rideshare credit with qualifying purchases and a competitive $0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $95. Here’s a closer look at the new Business Altitude Connect Card and what business owners should know about this waitlist-only travel rewards card scheduled to publicly launch in February. Business Altitude Connect Quick Facts The Business Altitude Connect Card is a brand new business travel rewards card from U.S. Bank. As a World Elite Mastercard, it comes with valuable benefits beyond what you experience with most comparable business travel rewards cards with an annual fee of around $100. The Spark business travel cards from Capital One are similar in some ways to this new U.S. Bank travel rewards card but the tiered rewards rate of the Business Altitude Connect merits attention. Rewards are as follows: 5 points per dollar on […]

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Though she might not be best known for her business acumen and entrepreneurial knowledge, it goes without saying that reality star Kim Kardashian knows a thing or two about running a successful empire. But not everyone is sold on Kardashian being the one to dole out advice. The star faced backlash on social media over the weekend for giving a speech at Harvard Business School. Kardashian visited HBS in Cambridge, Massachusetts on Friday with Skims co-founder Jens Grede to talk to students about the shapewear company for nearly two hours as a part of a direct-to-consumer seminar. I spoke At Harvard Business School yesterday for a class called HBS Moving Beyond DTC. The class’s assignment was to learn about @skims , so my partner Jens and I spoke about our marketing, our challenges and our greatest wins. pic.twitter.com/42FiWDlmaj — Kim Kardashian (@KimKardashian) January 21, 2023 Though cameras did follow her around campus, the seminar itself was not filmed. Related: Kim Kardashian Says Her 20-Year Reign of Relevance Is Thanks to This One Personality Trait Many took to Twitter to criticize Harvard’s decision to invite the 42-year-old to speak at the highly reputable institution. "I’d hate to pay that Harvard […]

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