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12title_var: "3 Ways Cognitive Computing Can Benefit Banks",
13description_short: "Always wondered how banks can use artificial intelligence to their benefit? Well, the IBM Institute for Business Value (IBV) wondered the same thing and apparently, it found three interesting ways cognitive computing can both boost banks and make their customers happy at the same time. Here they are, in no particular order, according to IBM via Forbes: Deepen customer engagement. ",
14content_text: "<p>Always wondered how banks can use artificial intelligence to their benefit? Well, the IBM Institute for Business Value (IBV) wondered the same thing and apparently, it found three interesting ways cognitive computing can both boost banks and make their customers happy at the same time.</p> <p>Here they are, in no particular order, according to IBM <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/ibm/2016/09/26/three-ways-cognitive-computing-can-transform-banks-and-make-customers-happy/#56225f8d1614">via Forbes</a>:</p> <ol> <li><strong>Deepen customer engagement.</strong> According to IBV, a cognitive bank would be able to provide customers with more personalized services through “deeper insight, context and learning.” How so? Robots! Customer service robots – or virtual agents – that understand speech, gestures, and even expressions “can serve, guide and advise customers” online, and because they can learn one’s preferences and interpret their questions, they can purportedly provide a better service over time.</li> <li><strong>Reshape operations. </strong>You don’t need to be a banker to understand that banks are complicated things chock-full of regulatory, risk, and operational problems – they’re just as thorny as they come. Cognitive computing can supposedly help banks in these areas, though. As IBV notes, a cognitive bank can not only align “policies, procedures, controls and standards across an organization to meet regulatory requirements,” but also understand a bank’s entire client base individually, with “comprehensive knowledge of both existing and proposed banking regulations across continents, countries, states and provinces.” Imagine the potential there.</li> <li><strong>Enhanced decision-making capabilities. </strong>What happens when you literally know your clients like the back of your hand? Yup, that’s right. Now imagine that but on a much larger scale – the insights would be enormous. A bank’s wealth managers would be able to advise clients more accurately, it’s business processes could potentially be accelerated, and the “best credit offerings can be designed for a client, as can other products suited to individual needs.”</li> </ol> <h3 class="listing-hero-title" data-automation="listing-title"><em>To learn more about Cognitive Banking, register for NexChange’s Fintech O2O: Blockchain, Cognitive Banking and AI conference <a href="https://www.eventbrite.com/e/fintech-o2o-blockchain-cognitive-banking-and-ai-tickets-33000166386?utm_campaign=order_confirmation_email&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;ref=eemailordconf&amp;utm_source=eb_email&amp;utm_term=eventname">here</a>.</em></h3> <pre>Photo: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/149077469@N03/31163482431/">Public Domain</a></pre> ",
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41title_var: "How Fintech is Creating a New Market For Sustainable Investing",
42description_short: "Sustainable, responsible and impact (SRI) investing has long been mostly reserved for large institutional investors with the scale and resources to access information about the opportunities in the market. But innovations being made through fintech are about to open the SRI market to individual investors - beginning with high net worth individuals - as technology begins narrowing the information gap between investor ",
43content_text: "<p><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-54957" src="http://cdn2.nexchange.com/wp-cdn-img/wp-content/uploads/EIU-Logo.jpg" alt="EIU Logo" width="950" height="101" /></p> <p>Sustainable, responsible and impact (SRI) investing has long been mostly reserved for large institutional investors with the scale and resources to access information about the opportunities in the market. But innovations being made through fintech are about to open the SRI market to individual investors &#8211; beginning with high net worth individuals &#8211; as technology begins narrowing the information gap between investor segments, according to a new white paper by <em>The Economist Intelligence Unit</em>.</p> <p>At the forefront of this innovation, according to the EIU, is are fintech solutions that are automating data analysis for individual investors, while offering &#8220;a wider range of asset management solutions at lower overall cost.&#8221; These innovations come at a time when the SRI market will continue to grow &#8220;as a more idealistic, socially engaged generation comes to the fore and takes advantage of a growing range of SRI products and options,&#8221; the EIU reports.</p> <p>Read the full white paper <a href="https://www.eiuperspectives.economist.com/sites/default/files/Better%20Life%20Breakthroughs%20series%20-%20Innovation%20in%20Investment.pdf">here</a>.</p> <pre>Photo: Getty Images</pre> <p>&nbsp;</p> ",
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70title_var: "Reports: Trump's Top Economic Adviser Wants to Break Up the Big Banks",
71description_short: "In a move that would certainly go over really well with Bernie Sanders' supporters, White House Economic adviser Gary Cohn supports bringing back legislation similar to Glass-Steagall that that would split up a bank's consumer-lending businesses from its investment banks, Bloomberg reports. Cohn made his feelings during a Senate Banking Committee meeting on Wednesday, and while some of the people at the meeting ",
72content_text: "<p>In a move that would certainly go over really well with Bernie Sanders&#8217; supporters, White House Economic adviser Gary Cohn supports bringing back legislation similar to Glass-Steagall that that would split up a bank&#8217;s consumer-lending businesses from its investment banks, <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-04-06/cohn-said-to-back-wall-street-split-of-lending-investment-banks"><em>Bloomberg</em></a> reports.</p> <p>Cohn made his feelings during a Senate Banking Committee meeting on Wednesday, and while some of the people at the meeting were surprised that a former Wall Street executive would support breaking up the big banks, <em>Bloomberg</em> notes that Cohn&#8217;s statements align with the Trump administration, which holds the &#8220;view that the banking system should be simplified with a focus on helping business grow and create jobs.&#8221; Glass-Steagall was repealed in 1999.</p> <p>Cohn&#8217;s comments came in response to a question about his views on Glass-Steagall from liberal Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren &#8211; &#8220;one of the finance industry’s most relentless critics&#8221; &#8211; according to <em>Bloomberg</em>. And as <em>Bloomberg</em> notes, the issue of splitting up the banks is a very rare issue that could actually get a substantial amount of support from both Republicans and Democrats.</p> <blockquote><p>Dismantling the nation’s banking giants isn’t a partisan issue, which is one reason why Wall Street fears the idea could gain traction. Both political parties &#8212; and many voters &#8212; still resent that taxpayers had to rescue the industry with a $700 billion bailout during the crisis.</p> <p>Republicans included a return of Glass-Steagall in the party platform they approved in July during their national convention. Warren, a Massachusetts Democrat, has proposed legislation with Republican Senator John McCain of Arizona called the “21st Century Glass-Steagall Act.”</p></blockquote> <p>However, it&#8217;s important to note &#8211; as <em>Bloomberg</em> does &#8211; that when Glass-Steagall was repealed it allowed firms like JPMorgan Chase and Citigroup to build banking and investment behemoths. Cohn, as the former president of Goldman Sachs, could see these rival banking giants take it on the chin just a bit if an updated version of Glass-Steagall was instituted.</p> <p>(We&#8217;re just saying).</p> <p>While Cohn&#8217;s (alleged) statements are being widely reported by the financial press, <a href="http://dealbreaker.com/2017/04/gary-cohn-new-glass-steagall/"><em>Dealbreaker</em></a>&#8216;s Thorton McEnery (what a name!) has a more cynical take on what really (maybe) went down at the Senate Banking Committee meeting on Wednesday.</p> <p>Per McEnery:</p> <blockquote><p>So right away we’re looking at a perfect storm for Gary’s musings to be over-analyzed while he bullshits with a room of legislators ranging from Mike Crapo to Elizabeth Warren. For all we know he was doing it Gary style (ie grundle-to-face) and Gary was feeling himself a bit too much on one of his first visits to the Senate as a White House power player. We might all be getting carried away because we don’t actually know the words he said.</p></blockquote> <p>McEnery also points to the <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/gary-cohn-backs-breaking-up-big-banks-1491491219"><em>Wall Street Journal</em></a>&#8216;s reporting of the meeting, which seems to be more like, &#8220;sure, let&#8217;s talk about it sometime.&#8221; According to the <em>Journal</em>, Cohn &#8220;expressed an openness to working with Ms. Warren on the issue, and said he could support a simple policy completely separating the two businesses, these people said.&#8221;</p> <p>Bob Doll, chief equity strategist at Nuveen, tells Bloomberg that breaking up the banks isn&#8217;t necessary anymore because of the substantial increase in regulations since the 2008 financial crisis. He says the banking system as currently constructed is &#8220;good for Wall Street, but it’s also really good for Main Street.”</p> <pre>Photo: Getty Images</pre> ",
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99title_var: "For Advisers, Rising Interest Rates Bring Challenges and Opportunity",
100description_short: "Financial planners should be remain liquid, flexible and attentive in determining investment strategy Brian Gracie is founder and partner at Heritage Financial Consultants in Hunt Valley, Md. and a registered representative with Lincoln Financial Advisors. Voices is an occasional feature of edited excerpts in which wealth managers address issues of interest to the advisory community. As told to Alex Coppola. ",
101content_text: "<p><a href="http://www.wsj.com/asia?mod=nexchange"><img class="size-medium wp-image-7202 alignleft" src="http://cdn2.nexchange.com/wp-cdn-img/wp-content/uploads/WSJ_Main1-300x77.png" alt="WSJ_Main[1]" width="300" height="77" srcset="https://wp.nexchange.com/wp-content/uploads/WSJ_Main1-300x77.png 300w, https://wp.nexchange.com/wp-content/uploads/WSJ_Main1.png 800w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a></p> <h4 class="sub-head">Financial planners should be remain liquid, flexible and attentive in determining investment strategy</h4> <p><em> Brian Gracie is founder and partner at Heritage Financial Consultants in Hunt Valley, Md. and a registered representative with Lincoln Financial Advisors. Voices is an occasional feature of edited excerpts in which wealth managers address issues of interest to the advisory community. <strong>As told to Alex Coppola. </strong> </em></p> <p>While the Federal Reserve in March raised short-term interest rates for the second time in three months, it was only the third time in more than a decade. And though additional increases are anticipated, the longer-term outlook for rates—and their impact on the market—is still unclear. As advisers, the question now is how those rate increases will affect our clients’ financial planning.</p> <p>Rising interest rates can be both a benefit to and a drag on investor’s savings. Higher rates mean better returns on money-market funds, but they also reduce existing bond values. While short-term price movement might cause clients some concern, it’s important to remind them of bonds’ significance in helping to offset the impact of stock-market volatility in a diversified portfolio.</p> <p>In this shifting-rate environment, shorter-duration bonds could be a better choice for investors. Bonds that mature more quickly allow clients to take advantage of subsequent rate hikes and capture higher rates of return on their investments.</p> <p>While we have been in rising-rate situations before, we are in somewhat uncharted territory now with rates having been held close to zero for so long. What’s certain is that we can’t know what’s going to happen—and our planning should reflect that.</p> <p>This new environment presents markets and investors with a great deal of uncertainty and underscores the importance of taking a tactical approach to making portfolio changes. As yields on bonds climb higher over the next year or so, it’s possible that we will see an accelerated movement by investors away from high-dividend stocks and into the bond market. That transition would be something we’d want to be aware of and careful about as advisers.</p> <p>Making a major shift in allocation—out of stocks and into bonds, for example—can put pressure on a client’s portfolio, especially for those near or in retirement. I think it’s important to resist the urge to make wholesale changes during uncertain times and instead make diversification a strategy focus. That could mean maintaining some exposure to dividend-paying and growth stocks and even alternative investments like real estate, private equity, or futures holdings in addition to bonds. The more exposure a client has to a variety of asset classes the less impact interest rates should have on his or her portfolio.</p> <p>In a changing-rate environment, advisers also need to be paying attention to the impact on stocks. Over the past few years we’ve seen many companies benefit greatly from a low interest-rate environment. Thanks to their ability to borrow money for close to nothing, many companies’ stock prices rose despite moderate to middling earnings. Companies maximizing leverage in a near-zero percent interest-rate environment do better in a growth market, as the money they borrow can be used to grow. Better capitalized companies have assets in liquid securities that do not grow as fast and have the potential to act as a drag against earnings. As rates move higher, though, companies with weaker balance sheets could struggle. Now is a good time for advisers and clients to re-evaluate and adjust their approach to stocks in tandem with their bond strategy.</p> <p>Above all, I think the key for clients will be to remain liquid, flexible and attentive in their approach to their investments.</p> <p><em>This article was originally published in <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/for-advisers-rising-interest-rates-bring-challenges-and-opportunity-1491500784?mod=nexchange">The Wall Street Journal</a>.</em></p> <pre>Photo: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/61423903@N06/7382239368/">FutUndBeidl</a></pre> ",
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128title_var: "Video: Bugatti's Chiron: Excuse Me While I Touch the Sky...Again",
129description_short: "Bugatti claims that the new Chiron fastest, most powerful, most expensive road car ever produced by a proper global automaker. WSJ’s Rumble Seat columnist Dan Neil takes a look. Photo: Bugatti This video was originally published in The Wall Street Journal. Photo: superandrei111",
130content_text: "<p><a href="http://www.wsj.com/asia?mod=nexchange"><img class="size-medium wp-image-7202 alignleft" src="http://cdn2.nexchange.com/wp-cdn-img/wp-content/uploads/WSJ_Main1-300x77.png" alt="WSJ_Main[1]" width="300" height="77" srcset="https://wp.nexchange.com/wp-content/uploads/WSJ_Main1-300x77.png 300w, https://wp.nexchange.com/wp-content/uploads/WSJ_Main1.png 800w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a></p> <p><div class="video-container"><iframe src="https://video-api.wsj.com/api-video/player/iframe.html?guid=81D3634A-F8F8-43A8-BA4D-9976EF7E373F" width="512" height="288" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></div></p> <p>Bugatti claims that the new Chiron fastest, most powerful, most expensive road car ever produced by a proper global automaker. WSJ’s Rumble Seat columnist Dan Neil takes a look. Photo: Bugatti</p> <p><em>This video was originally published in <a href="http://www.wsj.com/video/bugatti-chiron-excuse-me-while-i-touch-the-skyagain/81D3634A-F8F8-43A8-BA4D-9976EF7E373F.html?mod=nexchange">The Wall Street Journal</a>.</em></p> <pre>Photo: <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Buggati_chiron_2017.jpg">superandrei111</a></pre> ",
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157title_var: "Asia-Pacific Investors Consider Value of Hedge Funds",
158description_short: "Despite plans to reduce exposure in the short term, investors in Asia-Pacific remain more upbeat about the asset class than their counterparts in other regions 2017 Hedge Fund Letters Hedge fund investors in Asia-Pacific are mixed on their future allocations to the asset class, but remain more positive about the industry compared to investors in other regions. In November 2016, ",
159content_text: "<p><a href="http://www.valuewalk.com/"><img class="size-medium wp-image-15670 alignleft" src="http://cdn2.nexchange.com/wp-cdn-img/wp-content/uploads/rsz_valuewalk_medium_logo-300x155.jpg" alt="rsz_valuewalk_medium_logo" width="300" height="155" srcset="https://wp.nexchange.com/wp-content/uploads/rsz_valuewalk_medium_logo-300x155.jpg 300w, https://wp.nexchange.com/wp-content/uploads/rsz_valuewalk_medium_logo-825x430.jpg 825w, https://wp.nexchange.com/wp-content/uploads/rsz_valuewalk_medium_logo.jpg 833w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a></p> <p>Despite plans to reduce exposure in the short term, investors in Asia-Pacific remain more upbeat about the asset class than their counterparts in other regions</p> <h5 class="r"><a href="http://www.valuewalk.com/2017/04/2017-hedge-fund-letters/">2017 Hedge Fund Letters</a></h5> <p>Hedge fund investors in Asia-Pacific are mixed on their future allocations to the asset class, but remain more positive about the industry compared to investors in other regions. In November 2016, a survey conducted by Preqin found that although investor dissatisfaction with 2016 performance was prevalent, less than half of Asia-Pacific-based investors said their portfolios had not met expectations, compared with two-thirds of all other investors.</p> <p>Asia-Pacific-based investors also have mixed intentions for their hedge fund portfolios over the short and long term. The majority intend to invest less capital in 2017 than in 2016, but over the longer term less than a third intend to reduce their exposure, while an equal proportion will look to increase it. This is twice the proportion of investors in other regions that will look to invest more in hedge funds in the long term.</p> <p><a href="http://www.valuewalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Asia-Pacific-Hedge-Funds-1.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-1932200" src="http://www.valuewalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Asia-Pacific-Hedge-Funds-1-913x1024.jpg" sizes="(max-width: 770px) 100vw, 770px" srcset="http://www.valuewalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Asia-Pacific-Hedge-Funds-1-913x1024.jpg 913w, http://www.valuewalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Asia-Pacific-Hedge-Funds-1-267x300.jpg 267w, http://www.valuewalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Asia-Pacific-Hedge-Funds-1-768x861.jpg 768w, http://www.valuewalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Asia-Pacific-Hedge-Funds-1-49x55.jpg 49w, http://www.valuewalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Asia-Pacific-Hedge-Funds-1-401x450.jpg 401w, http://www.valuewalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Asia-Pacific-Hedge-Funds-1-357x400.jpg 357w" alt="Asia-Pacific Hedge Funds" width="770" height="864" /></a></p> <h4>Other Key APAC-Based Hedge Funds Facts:</h4> <ul> <li>Asia-Pacific-based hedge fund managers posted gains of 2.81% through 2016, their lowest annual return since 2011 (-5.95%). This compares with gains of 7.40% for the global industry.</li> <li>Despite this, 57% of APAC-based investors believe 2016 performance met or exceeded their expectations, almost twice the proportion (33%) of investors in other markets that think the same.</li> <li>However, investor confidence in hedge funds remains low in Asia-Pacific: just 14% of investors plan to invest more capital in hedge funds in 2017, compared to 57% that plan to decrease their short-term exposure to the asset class.</li> <li>Over the longer term, 29% of Asia-Pacific-based investors intend to increase their exposure to hedge funds, while the same proportion intend to reduce it.</li> <li>A similar proportion of global investors (31%) intend to reduce their long-term investment in the asset class, but only half the proportion (15%) of investors in other regions also plan to invest more in hedge funds.</li> <li>Equity strategies, macro strategies and relative value strategies funds are all set to see inflows from Asia-Pacific-based investors in 2017, as significant proportions of investors indicate that they intend to invest more to these strategies.</li> </ul> <p><a href="http://www.valuewalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Asia-Pacific-Hedge-Funds-2.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-1932203" src="http://www.valuewalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Asia-Pacific-Hedge-Funds-2-808x1024.jpg" sizes="(max-width: 770px) 100vw, 770px" srcset="http://www.valuewalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Asia-Pacific-Hedge-Funds-2-808x1024.jpg 808w, http://www.valuewalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Asia-Pacific-Hedge-Funds-2-237x300.jpg 237w, http://www.valuewalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Asia-Pacific-Hedge-Funds-2-768x973.jpg 768w, http://www.valuewalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Asia-Pacific-Hedge-Funds-2-43x55.jpg 43w, http://www.valuewalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Asia-Pacific-Hedge-Funds-2-355x450.jpg 355w, http://www.valuewalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Asia-Pacific-Hedge-Funds-2-316x400.jpg 316w" alt="Asia-Pacific Hedge Funds" width="770" height="976" /></a></p> <p><strong>Amy Bensted, Head of Hedge Fund Products:</strong></p> <p>“Although the hedge fund industry in Asia-Pacific is smaller than in North America and Europe, it has seen significant growth in recent times. Many investors in the region have only begun investing in recent years, and typically invest smaller proportions of their portfolios in hedge funds. However, the region could be a source of significant capital inflows in future years, as the portfolios of these investors grow and mature.</p> <p>However, the short-term outlook is less positive, with investors in the region, in a similar vein to investors globally, planning to reduce their exposure to hedge funds in the next 12 months. Like other regions across the globe, the twin issues of fees and performance will be central to the discussion around hedge funds in 2017, and something that will need to be addressed to improve investor sentiment in Asia-Pacific and beyond.”</p> <p><em><strong>Article by <a href="https://www.preqin.com/" rel="nofollow">Preqin</a></strong></em></p> <p><em>This article was originally published in <a href="http://www.valuewalk.com/2017/04/asia-pacific-investors-consider-value-hedge-funds/">ValueWalk</a>.</em></p> <pre>Photo: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/drflint/10168522646/">Nik Cyclist</a></pre> ",
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186title_var: "Hong Kong May Soon Have Its First Unicorn",
187description_short: "Unicorns – startups valued at over $1 billion – normally roam the enchanted high-rises of the U.S., China, and India, but thanks to one enterprising 25-year-old, it looks like Hong Kong’s going to get one soon. Here’s Bloomberg: Hong Kong may soon get its first billion-dollar startup, thanks to a 25-year-old entrepreneur whose company leases phones to travelers. Tink Labs ",
188content_text: "<p>Unicorns – startups valued at over $1 billion – normally roam the enchanted high-rises of the U.S., China, and India, but thanks to one enterprising 25-year-old, it looks like Hong Kong’s going to get one soon. Here’s <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-04-06/25-year-old-may-soon-give-hong-kong-its-first-1-billion-startup">Bloomberg</a>:</p> <blockquote><p>Hong Kong may soon get its first billion-dollar startup, thanks to a 25-year-old entrepreneur whose company leases phones to travelers.</p> <p><a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/quote/1344642D:HK">Tink Labs Ltd.</a> is in the process of raising about $40 million and aiming for a valuation of more than $1 billion, according to people familiar with the matter. The fundraising isn’t yet complete and the final figures could change, said the people, asking not to be identified because the information isn’t public.</p></blockquote> <p>Tink Labs, which was founded in 2012 by CEO Terence Kwok, had previously raised $125 million from a group which included Foxconn Technology and Kai-Fu Lee’s Sinovation Ventures. That round, which was held in September last year, valued the company at over $500 million. It aims to use this new round to increase its staff and cover expansion costs.</p> <p>What sort of expansion plans the company has wasn’t divulged, though we do know that it hopes to put their smartphones in a million hotel rooms by 2018. Given that they currently have around 120,000 of them in operation, and that they’re mostly installed in glitzy hotels such as the Ritz in London, I’m guessing unicorn status won’t be far off for Tink even if it doesn’t hit the million room mark next year. Let’s see how it goes for them.</p> <pre>Photo: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/4braham/5464274492/">Abraham Williams</a></pre> ",
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215title_var: "Twitter Co-Founder Sells 30% of His Shares For 'Personal' Reasons",
216description_short: "Twitter co-founder Ev Williams announced in a blog post on Medium (a platform he co-founded in 2012) that he is selling 30% of his shares in the social media company, but insists it has nothing to do with how poorly the company is performing. Williams says that he filed a 10b5–1 plan on Monday to liquidate a minority stake of his ",
217content_text: "<p>Twitter co-founder Ev Williams <a href="https://medium.com/@ev/why-im-selling-some-twitter-shares-e5b81386a796">announced in a blog post on Medium</a> (a platform he co-founded in 2012) that he is selling 30% of his shares in the social media company, but insists it has nothing to do with how poorly the company is performing.</p> <p>Williams says that he filed a 10b5–1 plan on Monday to liquidate a minority stake of his shares over the next year. He indicates that he&#8217;s liquidating this stake in order to ramp up his investments in other areas.</p> <p>Per Williams:</p> <blockquote><p><span class="markup--quote markup--p-quote is-other" data-creator-ids="anon">I like to invest a lot in things I care about.</span> For example, I’m the largest LP at <a class="markup--anchor markup--p-anchor" href="https://medium.com/r/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fobvious.com" target="_blank" rel="nofollow" data-href="https://medium.com/r/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fobvious.com">Obvious Ventures</a>, which has invested in over 35 world-positive companies. In addition, my wife and I have done a fair amount of philanthropic giving and—especially in the last year—upped our political donations significantly ?. These are all efforts to help build a smarter, more sustainable world. I’ve been doing all of them for a while, and I’d like to continue.</p></blockquote> <p>&#8220;It actually pains me to be selling at this point, but this sale is all about personal context, not company context,&#8221; Williams adds.</p> <p>A Twitter spokeswoman tells the <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/twitter-co-founder-evan-williams-to-sell-30-of-his-stock-1491506749"><em>Wall Street Journal</em></a> that Williams’ move is part of his “continued efforts to diversify his financial positions and focus on his charitable organization and other endeavors.”</p> <pre>Photo: Getty iStock</pre> ",
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244title_var: "Nikko Launches First ETF Outside Japan",
245description_short: "Tokyo-based Nikko Asset Management has listed an exchange-traded fund (ETF) in Singapore in partnership with Straits Trading. The fund, which will track an index of real estate investment trusts (REITs) in Asia excluding Japan, is the first ETF the firm has listed outside its home market. Nikko Asset Management is the manager of the fund while SRE Capital, a subsidiary ",
246content_text: "<p>Tokyo-based Nikko Asset Management has listed an exchange-traded fund (ETF) in Singapore in partnership with Straits Trading.</p> <p>The fund, which will track an index of real estate investment trusts (REITs) in Asia excluding Japan, is the first ETF the firm has listed outside its home market.</p> <p>Nikko Asset Management is the manager of the fund while SRE Capital, a subsidiary of Straits Trading, is the investment manager. Together the firms put 42.6 million Singapore dollars ($30 million) of seed capital into the fund, which raised about another 12 million Singapore dollars from retail investors during its initial offer period.</p> <p>“We are encouraged to have seen strong interest in the ETF,” said Eleanor Seet, president of Nikko Asset Management in Singapore.</p> <p>The fund tracks the FTSE EPRA/NAREIT Asia ex Japan Net Total Return REIT index, which offers exposure to property in Singapore, Hong Kong, China, Malaysia, Indonesia and elsewhere.</p> <p><strong>©2017 funds global asia</strong></p> <p><em>This article was originally published in <a href="http://www.fundsglobalasia.com/news/nikko-launches-first-etf-outside-japan">Funds Global Asia</a>.</em></p> <pre>Photo: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/73064996@N08/7648123032/">Jimmy McIntyre</a></pre> ",
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273title_var: "A Look at Liquidity",
274description_short: "Liquidity is a hard-to-define concept that often only comes to the fore during challenging market environments. This makes it understandable that market participants may view issues of liquidity with some trepidation. As fundamental bottom-up stock pickers at Matthews Asia, we analyze businesses from across the liquidity spectrum. It is, therefore, important for us to consider and mitigate the associated risks ",
275content_text: "<p><a href="https://www.advisorperspectives.com/"><img class="size-medium wp-image-14866 alignleft" src="http://cdn2.nexchange.com/wp-cdn-img/wp-content/uploads/AD_Pers_LOGO21-300x54.gif" alt="AD_Pers_LOGO2" width="300" height="54" /></a></p> <p>Liquidity is a hard-to-define concept that often only comes to the fore during challenging market environments. This makes it understandable that market participants may view issues of liquidity with some trepidation.</p> <p>As fundamental bottom-up stock pickers at Matthews Asia, we analyze businesses from across the liquidity spectrum. It is, therefore, important for us to consider and mitigate the associated risks where possible. While most readers will be aware of these risks during market downturns, we have found that what is often ignored is the potential for improved liquidity to augment stock returns while enhancing the opportunity set available to us as investors in the region.</p> <p>A working paper by the International Monetary Fund broadly defines liquidity as having five overlapping characteristics against which it can be assessed: (i) tightness, (ii) immediacy, (iii) depth, (iv) breadth and (v) resiliency. A liquid market—at an index or security level—would thus exhibit low transaction costs, speed of execution, a large quantity of orders, a minimal impact on price from high volumes and a rapid correction to any market imbalances in order to satisfy each of these criteria.</p> <p>Given the range of characteristics implied by the concept, there is no single metric we use that captures all the elements of market liquidity. However, using available data to measure transaction costs, bid-ask spreads and security turnover, we can quickly piece together the liquidity profile of markets, portfolios and even individual stocks.</p> <p>If we are to use market turnover as a basic proxy, Asia-Pacific on the whole is the second-most liquid region globally, according to the World Federation of Exchanges.</p> <p><a class="galleryImg" href="https://us.matthewsasia.com/resources/img/Asia_Insight/0317/Value_ShareTrading_WEB.gif"><img class="ap-lazy-image loaded" src="https://us.matthewsasia.com/resources/img/Asia_Insight/0317/Value_ShareTrading_WEB.gif" data-src="https://us.matthewsasia.com/resources/img/Asia_Insight/0317/Value_ShareTrading_WEB.gif" /></a></p> <p>However, what is most striking has been the increase in liquidity across the region, which has risen almost six-fold since 1996. This move has been more prominent in some countries than others, with average daily turnover for China’s Shanghai Stock Exchange Composite Index growing at a compound annual growth rate of 38%. Indonesia and Thailand also saw substantial compounded growth of 20% and 19% respectively. At the other end of the scale, South Korea saw the slowest growth in liquidity yet still achieved a compounded growth rate of 5%, showing that the benefit has been seen across the entire region.</p> <p><em>Read more at <a href="https://www.advisorperspectives.com/commentaries/2017/04/07/a-look-at-liquidity">Advisor Perspectives</a>.</em></p> <pre>Photo: <a href="http://www.vpsi.org/">Allan Ajifo</a></pre> ",
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302title_var: "Most Travelers Say People Wearing 'Inappropriate' Clothes Shouldn't Be Allowed to Fly",
303description_short: "Outrage and cries of sexism ensued in March when two young girls were deemed unfitto board a United Airlines UAL, +0.94% flight due to their outfits—specifically the yoga pants they were wearing. At the time, public figures including model and actress Chrissy Teigen and Academy Award-winner and equal pay advocate Patricia Arquette criticized the airline for targeting the young girls, ",
304content_text: "<p><a href="http://www.marketwatch.com/?mod=nexchange"><img class="size-medium wp-image-7204 alignleft" src="http://cdn2.nexchange.com/wp-cdn-img/wp-content/uploads/MarketWatch_Main1-300x57.png" alt="MarketWatch_Main[1]" width="300" height="57" srcset="https://wp.nexchange.com/wp-content/uploads/MarketWatch_Main1-300x57.png 300w, https://wp.nexchange.com/wp-content/uploads/MarketWatch_Main1.png 800w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a></p> <p>Outrage and cries of sexism ensued in March when two young girls were deemed unfitto board a United Airlines <span class="quote up bgQuote" data-channel="/quotes/zigman/617037/composite" data-bgformat=""><a class="qt-chip trackable" href="http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/ual?mod=MW_story_quote" data-fancyid="XNYSStockUAL" data-track-mod="MW_story_quote">UAL, <span class="bgPercentChange">+0.94%</span></a></span> flight due to their outfits—specifically the yoga pants they were wearing. At the time, public figures including model and actress Chrissy Teigen and Academy Award-winner and equal pay advocate Patricia Arquette criticized the airline for targeting the young girls, and others called the dress code sexist. But 80% of travelers said airlines should be allowed to do this, according to a survey of 1,800 travelers from Airfarewatchdog, a 30% increase since last year.</p> <p><em>Read more at <a href="http://www.marketwatch.com/story/most-travelers-say-people-wearing-inappropriate-clothes-shouldnt-be-allowed-to-fly-2017-04-08?mod=nexchange">MarketWatch</a>.</em></p> <pre>Photo: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/58847482@N03/5655187409/">Matthew Kenwrick</a></pre> <p>&nbsp;</p> ",
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331title_var: "Building a Strong Family Unit",
332description_short: "Ned Dane is in charge of OppenheimerFunds’ private client Group, a specialist unit of the mutual fund giant focused on serving family offices, private banks, and trusts. In partnership with Campden Wealth, he financed an extensive study of millennials in families with $30 million or more, which he shared exclusively with Barron’s Penta. What caught our eye: Millennials, at least ",
333content_text: "<p><a href="http://online.barrons.com/asia?mod=nexchange"><img class="size-medium wp-image-7206 alignleft" src="http://cdn2.nexchange.com/wp-cdn-img/wp-content/uploads/Barrons_Main1-300x74.png" alt="Barrons_Main[1]" width="300" height="74" srcset="https://wp.nexchange.com/wp-content/uploads/Barrons_Main1-300x74.png 300w, https://wp.nexchange.com/wp-content/uploads/Barrons_Main1.png 420w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a></p> <p>Ned Dane is in charge of OppenheimerFunds’ private client Group, a specialist unit of the mutual fund giant focused on serving family offices, private banks, and trusts. In partnership with Campden Wealth, he financed an extensive study of millennials in families with $30 million or more, which he shared exclusively with <em>Barron’s Penta.</em> What caught our eye: Millennials, at least those born to wealth, might not be as conservative an investor group as previously thought.</p> <p><a class="icon none" href="http://blogs.barrons.com/penta/2014/02/04/risk-averse-youth/" target="_blank">A seminal UBS study in 2014</a> revealed that affluent millennials were keeping 52% of their portfolio in cash and were “markedly conservative, more like the WW II generation who came of age in the Great Depression.” The OppenheimerFunds study reveals a very different picture. A quarter of the millennials it surveyed were involved in 20 or more alternative-investment deals over the past five years, exhibiting a stronger-than-expected appetite for private equity, hedge funds, and real estate. That appetite sits alongside their well-documented taste for aggressively using <a class="icon none" href="http://www.barrons.com/articles/family-foundations-millennials-take-charge-1481346318" target="_blank">impact investing to meet their philanthropic objectives</a>.</p> <p>Take, for example, an investment analyst who participated in Dane’s study and describes himself as a moderate-to-aggressive investor. His family takes on less risk than he prefers, and he is respectfully at odds with them. He is set on taking high doses of risk with his portfolio now, derisking in 15 years when he’ll need more liquidity, and then ramping up the risk level again closer to retirement. It’s reflective of many of the clients’ children, who have stomachs for “calculated risks,” OppenheimerFunds claims in its study.</p> <p><strong>SO WHY IS OPPENHEIMERFUNDS</strong>, best known for selling mutual funds to the man on the street, commissioning high-end research on the ultrawealthy? The firm, long a supplier of mutual fund products to private banks, believes it will only benefit from creating a “stickier” relationship with its family-office, private-bank, and trust clients. The unit has $11.1 billion in assets under management, and clients are serviced by a team of 10 pros reporting to Dane. His goal is to increase his unit’s assets and market share by 10% over the next five years. (The industry’s rate is expected to be 2%.)</p> <p>“We compete in a very crowded marketplace of wonderful asset-management firms,” Dane says. “I feel strongly that if we build deeper relationships with clients, acutely listen to their challenges, and present ideas that solve problems, we’ll become these clients’ most-trusted advisor.”</p> <p>To that end, OppenheimerFunds agreed earlier this year to acquire SNW Asset Management, which specializes in managing high-quality fixed-income portfolios in a tax-efficient way and targets high-net-worth individuals. “It closes a big hole in our offerings for clients who want separate-account capabilities and impact strategies,” Dane says. He has also partnered with Legacy Capitals, a New Hope, Pa.–based family-wealth consultancy that advises billionaire families. Legacy helps train OppenheimerFunds advisors on forging deeper relationships with their clients and their clients’ families, while OppenheimerFunds provides investment products when Legacy needs to expand its investment options and solutions for clients.</p> <p>Dane has been traveling the country this year hosting special workshops for client-facing advisors at private banks, aiming to help train at least 500 top advisor teams to turn one-on-one client relationships into relationships involving the whole family.</p> <p><strong>ENTER THE RECENT</strong> OppenheimerFunds research. Dane often leads his talks with insights into millennial attitudes. For example, one Western family office took an interest in the research and requested a conversation with Dane’s team. The family needed to make a 5% annual distribution to charities from its family foundation, as required by law, but were concerned that the portfolio made less than 5% in the past year, due to market conditions.</p> <p>OppenheimerFunds offered the family an investment solution that is expected to boost the family foundation’s returns while hedging against market downturns. So the millennial research hooked a family-office client that might not have been aware that OppenheimerFunds could provide it with sophisticated family-foundation advice and services.</p> <p><em>This article was originally published in <a href="http://blogs.barrons.com/penta/2017/04/07/building-a-strong-family-unit/?mod=nexchange">Barron&#8217;s</a>.</em></p> <pre>Photo: <a href="http://www.uberoffices.com/">uberof202 ff</a></pre> ",
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360title_var: "Wilbur Ross Says U.S. Wants 'Tangible Results' With China — and Soon",
361description_short: "Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said the U.S. wants to see “tangible results” — and soon — on its trading relationship with China. Read more at MarketWatch. Photo: Public Domain",
362content_text: "<p><a href="http://www.marketwatch.com/?mod=nexchange"><img class="size-medium wp-image-7204 alignleft" src="http://cdn2.nexchange.com/wp-cdn-img/wp-content/uploads/MarketWatch_Main1-300x57.png" alt="MarketWatch_Main[1]" width="300" height="57" srcset="https://wp.nexchange.com/wp-content/uploads/MarketWatch_Main1-300x57.png 300w, https://wp.nexchange.com/wp-content/uploads/MarketWatch_Main1.png 800w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a></p> <p>Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said the U.S. wants to see “tangible results” — and soon — on its trading relationship with China.</p> <p><em>Read more at <a href="http://www.marketwatch.com/story/wilbur-ross-says-us-wants-tangible-results-with-china-and-soon-2017-04-09?mod=nexchange">MarketWatch</a>.</em></p> <pre>Photo: <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:United_States_Secretary_of_Commerce_Wilbur_Ross_address_to_employees_on_March_1st_2017.jpg">Public Domain</a></pre> ",
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389title_var: "China Debt Problem Is Massive at $35 Trillion, on Par With Greece",
390description_short: "Chinese debt collapse ahead? Watch out as the risks have not gone away warns one big bank. China is the key to the world economy, a Macquarie Research report points out. In fact, it is the only country that can reflate the world economy. With a debt to GDP pegged at near 300%, the report notes that China can do ",
391content_text: "<p><a href="http://www.valuewalk.com/"><img class="size-medium wp-image-15670 alignleft" src="http://cdn2.nexchange.com/wp-cdn-img/wp-content/uploads/rsz_valuewalk_medium_logo-300x155.jpg" alt="rsz_valuewalk_medium_logo" width="300" height="155" srcset="https://wp.nexchange.com/wp-content/uploads/rsz_valuewalk_medium_logo-300x155.jpg 300w, https://wp.nexchange.com/wp-content/uploads/rsz_valuewalk_medium_logo-825x430.jpg 825w, https://wp.nexchange.com/wp-content/uploads/rsz_valuewalk_medium_logo.jpg 833w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a></p> <p>Chinese debt collapse ahead? Watch out as the risks have not gone away warns one big bank.</p> <p>China is the key to the world economy, a Macquarie Research report points out. In fact, it is the only country that can reflate the world economy. With a <a href="http://www.valuewalk.com/2013/04/china-local-authority-debt-could-be-worse-than-us-housing-market-crash/">debt to GDP</a> pegged at near 300%, the report notes that China can do the impossible in part due to their unique economic structure – they don’t have a central bank amid the world where public and private divisions are much less pronounced than in the US. But with growth targets being reigned in, watch for s<a href="http://www.valuewalk.com/2017/01/trump-tax-depression/">tagflation and even deflation</a>.</p> <figure id="attachment_1932943" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img class="wp-image-1932943 size-full" src="http://www.valuewalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/china_1491569170.jpg" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px" srcset="http://www.valuewalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/china_1491569170.jpg 640w, http://www.valuewalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/china_1491569170-300x205.jpg 300w" alt="Chinese debt collapse China" width="640" height="438" /></p> <figcaption class="wp-caption-text"> <h5>Chinese debt collapse</h5> <p><a href="https://pixabay.com/users/Unsplash/" rel="nofollow">Unsplash</a> / Pixabay</p> </figcaption> </figure> <h4>Chinese debt collapse? Country is holding up the world economy, says Macquarie</h4> <p>China is like the Greek god of Atlas, Macquarie analysts Victor Shvets and Chetan Seth write, saying the Asian nation is “what stands between relative normality and sky falling and crushing global economy.”</p> <p>China is responsible for 27% of global investment and nearly 66% of <a href="http://www.valuewalk.com/2016/10/china-property-craze/">global credit creation</a>, and the world is “addicted” to Chinese money. Shvets and Seth think the “key” to the reflation trade is found in China’s stimulus, which drove real estate and industrial development. This, in turn, drove commodity prices significantly higher.</p> <p><a href="http://www.valuewalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/china-debt-to-gdp-ratio-5-10_orig.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-1933384" src="http://www.valuewalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/china-debt-to-gdp-ratio-5-10_orig.jpg" sizes="(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px" srcset="http://www.valuewalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/china-debt-to-gdp-ratio-5-10_orig.jpg 500w, http://www.valuewalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/china-debt-to-gdp-ratio-5-10_orig-300x219.jpg 300w, http://www.valuewalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/china-debt-to-gdp-ratio-5-10_orig-75x55.jpg 75w" alt="" width="500" height="365" /></a></p> <p>The growth was primarily fueled by <a href="http://www.valuewalk.com/2017/01/horseman-global-2016/">spectacular government debt expansion</a>. China dramatically grew its debt from US$1.5 trillion in 2000 to $37 trillion to end 2016, a factor that creates various asset bubbles along the way – with real estate being a prime example. The report compares China To Greece, stating:</p> <blockquote><p>For example, China’s non-financial corporates maintain debt to GDP of ~170% (double levels prevalent in the US), but at least 70% of that debt belongs to SOE sectors. If one then adds 50%-60% debt to GDP that is directly attributable to national and provincial Governments (inclusive of LGF’s, various ministries and bank bail-out bonds) and another 60%+ that belongs to the banking sector, then Government directly or indirectly responsible for around 230-240% debt to GDP (or on par with Greece), with ‘real private sector’ remaining significantly under leveraged.</p></blockquote> <p>Commodity booms can be supply or demand driven. China, for its part, was largely driven by demand. The question for worldwide growth: can China continue to hold up the world economy?</p> <h4>Chinese Debt Collapse? China’s central bank is not independent and thus has more flexibility</h4> <p>Shvets and Seth think the key to future real estate and infrastructure investment in China – a land where entire cities have been built but are generally unoccupied – remains a robust investment nonetheless.</p> <p>Calling China the “adult” amid a “fairly chaotic global playground,” Macquarie noted the country might ease up on the stimulus accelerator amid a reduction in growth targets – which are still nearly double that of the US.</p> <p>China is in the unusual position of having a meld of fiscal and monetary policy. Shvets and Seth claim that “What makes China different to any other major economy (including the US) is that China does not have an independent Central Bank.”</p> <p>The People’s Bank of China is the nation’s central bank, but it is not independent of the central government and there is no difference between its monetary and banking policies. The concept of fiscal policy, normally reserved for government spending often on infrastructure, is very different from monetary policy, most often executed by an independent central bank through interest rate policies.</p> <p>“Unlike Western economies that are ‘twisting themselves into pretzels’ trying to present various QE policies as something other than monetization while attempting to portray their fiscal policies as being responsible, <em>China does not need to pretend</em>,” Shvets and Seth point out. In other words, they can be “credibly irresponsible,” to use a Paul Krugman term, while maintaining a<a href="http://www.valuewalk.com/2017/03/china-debt-to-equity-swaps/"> 300% debt to GDP level</a>. That debt is mostly targeted towards the state sector, with 66% involving government ownership of some sort.</p> <p>For investors looking at China as the hero to hold up a global economy searching for growth, a problem is a reversion to the mean. Cyclical valuations are already back to their average levels. If they were to be jacked higher it would require ongoing reflation, which Macquarie doesn’t think is in the cards.</p> <p>Watch China to understand the health of the world economy. Macquarie is looking for a <a href="http://www.valuewalk.com/2017/04/european-inflation-macro-voices/">stagflationary </a>fear to grip over “the next several months,” and then “disinflation” <a href="http://www.valuewalk.com/2017/03/chinese-banking-system-crash/">could rear its ugly head again</a>. For an investment outlook, they prefer “local, liquid and low external vulnerability markets.”</p> <p>Echoing <a href="http://www.valuewalk.com/2015/09/jim-chanos-china-debt-surge-echoes-1990s-japan/">Jim Chanos among others</a>, the report also compares the country <a href="http://www.valuewalk.com/2016/08/japan-inflation-population-collapse/">to Japan in the 1980s</a> and likens the country to a “squirrel in wheel unable to stop”.</p> <p><em>This article was originally published in <a href="http://www.valuewalk.com/2017/04/chinese-debt-collapse/">ValueWalk</a>.</em></p> <pre>Photo: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/tenaciousme/703950180/">tenaciousme</a></pre> ",
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418title_var: "Glass-Steagall - There Can Be No Return",
419description_short: "peter@inasiamedia.com In a recent interview, Gary Cohn, the ex-President of Goldman Sachs and US President Donald Trump’s current chief economic advisor, was asked about bringing back Glass-Steagall. The 1933 law, which separated commercial banking from investment banking, was repealed in 1999 as the financial world changed and began hurtling to a new ‘Great Depression’. Cohn replied that he “generally favours ",
420content_text: "<h5><a href="mailto:peter@inasiamedia.com">peter@inasiamedia.com</a></h5> <p>In a recent <a title="interview" href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-04-06/cohn-said-to-back-wall-street-split-of-lending-investment-banks">interview</a>, Gary Cohn, the ex-President of Goldman Sachs and US President Donald Trump’s current chief economic advisor, was asked about bringing back Glass-Steagall. The 1933 law, which separated commercial banking from investment banking, was repealed in 1999 as the financial world changed and began hurtling to a new ‘Great Depression’.</p> <p>Cohn replied that he “generally favours banking going back to how it was when firms like Goldman focused on trading and underwriting securities, and companies such as Citigroup Inc. primarily issued loans.”</p> <p>Such thoughts, especially from an ex-banker and super bureaucrat, represent financial nostalgia, a yearning for a simpler day and age &#8211; a state free from today’s volatility and uncertainty.</p> <p>But, the absence of Glass-Steagall and the separation of commercial and investment banks in the run up to the 2008 financial crisis would not have prevented or ameliorated the systemic collapse.</p> <p>Just look at some of the institutions at ground zero of the crisis. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were government-owned entities that pumped up the mortgage backed securities market. American International Group, Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers were not commercial banks. One of the biggest banks to fail, Washington Mutual, did not operate an investment banking division. These contradictions defied conceptions of where systemic risk lay.</p> <p><strong>Moral hazard</strong></p> <p>Today, the crisis has made bankers and regulators all too aware of the “too big to fail” dilemma. By not being able to allow a systemically important financial institution to collapse for fear that ripple effects would destroy the entire financial system, it creates moral hazard.</p> <p>The signs of total economic collapse nearly 10 years ago forced the Bush administration to push through the USD700 billion TARP (Troubled Asset Relief Program) &#8211; a massive loan to banks to save them from their liquidity crisis. Critics on both sides of the US political divide excoriated this taxpayer bailout, yet the government has since made a profit of USD85.8 billion from the loan. However, government officials and regulators fervently vow to never be compromised into that position again.</p> <p>But legislators found it easier to pass Dodd-Frank than another version of Glass-Steagall. One of the primary purposes of the Dodd-Frank financial reform legislation Congress passed in 2010 is to ensure bailouts like TARP would never happen again. But, even after it became law, much scepticism remains about whether the too-big-to-fail paradox has in fact been solved. This explains the almost desperate calls for reconstituting Glass-Steagall in recent years.</p> <p>Failures in other jurisdictions show bank rescues are unavoidable. The bail out of Italian banks by their government and the Eurozone show surmounting the psychological barriers of bail-in versus bail out defy risk minimising behaviour.</p> <p>Bail in, where bank common equity and bond holders are supposed to cushion and bear the brunt of systemic failure rather than requiring a tax payer financed bail out, looks only theoretically effective. In practice, normative behaviour in Italy suggested depositors would flee their banks as they detected rumours those banks’ owners and debtors would be jeopardised. The outcome is zombie, walking dead banks.</p> <p><strong>Ghost in the machine</strong></p> <p>Even TLAC bonds count as Tier 1 liquid capital of a G-SIFI (global systemically important financial institution). But, don’t forget that the main institutional buyers of TLACs include insurance companies and pension funds. It is the individuals they serve that will ultimately suffer if a systemic failure wipes out TLACs. Risk has become a “ghost in the machine”, shifting from one holder to the other; as fungible as capital itself.</p> <p>Glass-Steagall &#8211; where financial conglomerates were forced to (and able to) spin off their investment banking arms &#8211; could only have existed in 1933. Today, if a commercial bank nears insolvency, the FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation) can wind it down. And if an investment bank faces default, it can file for bankruptcy without spreading havoc to the rest of the financial system.</p> <p>Back in 1933, the financial system was not dominated and interlinked by derivatives in almost every asset class.</p> <p>Once banks have created derivative securities, they spawn additional layers of derivatives whose values are interdependent. Global derivatives markets are so vast and difficult to measure given this multiplication; some analysts say it is in the trillions of dollars, three times the value of all the physical assets in the world.</p> <p>So, instead of dealing directly with end users, G-SIFIs end up dealing with each other. The actual economic contribution of derivatives becomes difficult to measure because of the many difficulties in interpreting reported information about financial sector activities. Yet, the market and demand for them continues to grow.</p> <p>It fuels the rise of the trader and quant &#8211; the primacy of a trading culture which can no longer be disassociated from the financial system. The financial industry mostly trades with, and judges, itself. Worst of all, the acceptance of this inscrutable, black box status has done much damage to regulation and reform as we try to measure and manage risk.</p> <p>Yet regulators and governments need to come to grips with how to manage or limit the inherent instability of the financial system. Modern societies need finance. And even modest advances in facilitating payments and providing small credits in poor countries can have substantial effects on economic dynamism.</p> <p>Indeed, a country can only be prosperous only if it has a well-functioning financial system. Innovation in that system then becomes critical to the creation of an industrial society. However, not every modern financial innovation contributes to economic health and growth. Thus, the solution does not lie with re-separating banks or breaking up SIFIs, but in finding ways to measure and manage risk in all aspects of the financial system.</p> <p><em>This article was originally published in <a href="http://www.regulationasia.com/article/glass-steagall-there-can-be-no-return">Regulation Asia.</a></em></p> <pre>Photo: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/wonderlane/5277044468/">Wonderlane</a></pre> ",
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447title_var: "Indonesian Fintech Firms to Double by Year End",
448description_short: "Indonesia may be known more for its exotic culture and its enticing beaches, but by the end of the year, it may be known for one more thing: fintech. Deal Street Asia: Indonesia – the largest economy in the south east Asian region – is betting on the great big fintech opportunity riding on its demographics and unbanked population. Indonesia, ",
449content_text: "<p>Indonesia may be known more for its exotic culture and its enticing beaches, but by the end of the year, it may be known for one more thing: fintech.</p> <p><a href="http://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/plan-to-focus-on-fintech-in-a-big-way-expect-250-fintech-companies-by-end-of-2017-ojk-69700/">Deal Street Asia</a>:</p> <blockquote><p>Indonesia – the largest economy in the south east Asian region – is betting on the great big fintech opportunity riding on its demographics and unbanked population. Indonesia, which has already seen the emergence of 130 fintech companies, is expecting this number to double in a year with $3.6 billion worth of transactions on this model over the next one year, deputy director of OJK, the financial services regulator, Pak Tuahta Aloysius Saraguh, said in an interaction. Pak Aloysius has been instrumental in encouraging the Fintech industry in Indonesia.</p></blockquote> <p>As mentioned, a great number of Indonesians remain unbanked. Estimates peg the number at a whopping 36% of the adult population – much lower than the percentage of mobile phone users – making the country especially ripe for financial inclusion-based innovations.</p> <p>The fact that the nation has a massive – and growing – population should help fintech companies even more. As Pak Aloysius also points out, Singapore and Australia may have ignited the Asian fintech boom but their markets are tiny compared to Indonesia’s:</p> <blockquote><p>“…they are very small markets, and its actual utility in a big way can only be understood in markets like Indonesia. Both Jakarta and Surabaya have bigger markets.”</p></blockquote> <p>And the kicker is that they may be more eager to ask for loans than most:</p> <blockquote><p>“…that’s why Fintech is growing here. Necessity of people to borrow money is extremely high in Indonesia.”</p></blockquote> <p>That said, Indonesian fintech still has a ways to go. As Pak Aloysius notes, the country has yet to create a proper ecosystem for fintech firms to flourish in. There’s still a need to arrange backing from the government, and – using the Australian startup model – arrange funding from the exchanges and the telecoms as well.</p> <p>Once that’s all hammered out though, we could expect a lot of changes there:</p> <blockquote><p>“If we can set it up like Singapore and Australia, I believe we will have more than 300 FinTech companies in no time.”</p></blockquote> <pre>Photo: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/thrillseekr/3265139229/">Thrillseekr</a></pre> ",
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476title_var: "Wells Fargo Docks an Extra $75M in Compensation From Two Execs at Center of Scandal",
477description_short: "Wells Fargo's board on Monday released a 113-page report on last year's massive banking scandal, laying the majority of the blame on two top former executives who will lose out on an additional $75 million in compensation for their roles in allowing the deceptive practices to occur. John Stumpf, the former chief executive, and Carrie Tolstedt, the former head of ",
478content_text: "<p>Wells Fargo&#8217;s board on Monday released a <a href="https://www08.wellsfargomedia.com/assets/pdf/about/investor-relations/presentations/2017/board-report.pdf?https://www.wellsfargo.com/assets/pdf/about/investor-relations/presentations/2017/board-report.pdf">113-page report</a> on last year&#8217;s massive banking scandal, laying the majority of the blame on two top former executives who will lose out on an additional $75 million in compensation for their roles in allowing the deceptive practices to occur.</p> <p>John Stumpf, the former chief executive, and Carrie Tolstedt, the former head of community banking, were subject to blistering criticism in the report, which was compiled by the law firm Shearman &amp; Sterling. The firm&#8217;s lawyers conducted 100 interviews and reviewed 35 million documents.</p> <p>The <a href="http://www.nexchange.com/article/11331">scandal broke last year</a> when it came to light that since 2011 Wells Fargo employees had engaged in numerous scams, including issuing credit cards without customers’ consent; setting up fake emails to register customers for online services; and creating sham bank accounts that customers only knew about once they began racking up fees. Current and former employees signaled that a <a href="http://www.nexchange.com/article/11377">&#8220;crazy&#8221; sales culture</a> at Wells Fargo placed immense pressure on branch employees to increase their performance numbers.</p> <p>The report largely backs up this assessment, concluding that the &#8220;root cause&#8221; of the scandal was &#8220;sales practice failures was the distortion of the Community Bank’s sales culture and performance management system, which, when combined with aggressive sales management, created pressure on employees to sell unwanted or unneeded products to customers and, in some cases, to open unauthorized accounts.&#8221; The report adds that Wells Fargo&#8217;s &#8220;decentralized corporate structure gave too much autonomy to the Community Bank’s senior leadership, who were unwilling to change the sales model or even recognize it as the root cause of the problem.&#8221;</p> <p>The report also accuses the Community Bank&#8217;s senior leadership of minimizing &#8220;the scale and nature of the problem&#8221; when it was forced to explain the scandal. For his part, Stumpf was assailed for not working fast enough to put a stop to the scams nor keep the board informed of what was happening.</p> <blockquote><p>The former Chief Executive Officer, relying on Wells Fargo’s decades of success with cross-sell and positive customer and employee survey results, was too slow to investigate or critically challenge sales practices in the Community Bank. He also failed to appreciate the seriousness of the problem and the substantial reputational risk to Wells Fargo. Corporate control functions were constrained by the decentralized organizational structure and a culture of substantial deference to the business units. In addition, a transactional approach to problem-solving obscured their view of the broader context. As a result, they missed opportunities to analyze, size and escalate sales practice issues.</p></blockquote> <p>In fact, the report reveals that the board was not actually made aware that the bank&#8217;s sales practices were a &#8220;noteworthy risk&#8221; until newspaper articles were published in February 2014 critical of Wells Fargo&#8217;s sales practices in Los Angeles. The Los Angeles City Attorney a lawsuit against the bank in may 2015 alleging widespread illegal sales practices.</p> <p>Tolstedt was singled out as the main culprit for Wells Fargo&#8217;s aggressive sales culture and was painted as a difficult person to work for and with during her tenure at the bank.</p> <blockquote><p>Tolstedt and certain of her inner circle were insular and defensive and did not like to be challenged or hear negative information. Even senior leaders within the Community Bank were frequently afraid of or discouraged from airing contrary views. Tolstedt effectively challenged and resisted scrutiny both from within and outside the Community Bank. She and her group risk officer not only failed to escalate issues outside the Community Bank, but also worked to impede such escalation, including by keeping from the Board information regarding the number of employees terminated for sales practice violations.</p></blockquote> <p>Meanwhile, the report concludes that Stumpf was too chummy with Tolstedt, causing him to take appropriate action against her.</p> <blockquote><p>Stumpf’s long-standing working relationship with Tolstedt influenced his judgment as well. Tolstedt reported to Stumpf until late 2015 and he admired her as a banker and for the contributions she made to the Community Bank over many years. At the same time, he was aware that many doubted that she remained the right person to lead the Community Bank in the face of sales practice revelations, including the Board’s lead independent director and the head of its Risk Committee. Stumpf nonetheless moved too slowly to address the management issue.</p></blockquote> <p>The <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/10/business/wells-fargo-pay-executives-accounts-scandal.html?hp&amp;action=click&amp;pgtype=Homepage&amp;clickSource=story-heading&amp;module=first-column-region&amp;region=top-news&amp;WT.nav=top-news"><em>New York Times</em></a> notes that Timothy Sloan, who succeeded Stumpf as CEO after the latter retired October, &#8220;was largely exonerated by the report, despite the fact that he was also a career Wells Fargo executive.&#8221;</p> <pre>Screenshot via YouTube</pre> ",
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505title_var: "Machine Learning and AI: New Report Shows 40% of Hedge Funds Created Last Year Were Systematic",
506description_short: "Are the days of fundamental hedge fund management coming to an end? According to a report from Preqin, a company that provides financial industry data, 40 percent of hedge funds created in 2016 were “systematic,” meaning that they rely on computer models and algorithms to make trading decisions. Established trading firms and startups are starting to explore whether trading techniques ",
507content_text: "<p><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-15531" src="http://cdn2.nexchange.com/wp-cdn-img/wp-content/uploads/rsz_benzinga_main-300x169.png" alt="rsz_benzinga_main" width="300" height="169" srcset="https://wp.nexchange.com/wp-content/uploads/rsz_benzinga_main-300x169.png 300w, https://wp.nexchange.com/wp-content/uploads/rsz_benzinga_main.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></p> <p>Are the days of fundamental hedge fund management coming to an end? According to <a href="https://www.technologyreview.com/s/600695/will-ai-powered-hedge-funds-outsmart-the-market/">a report from Preqin</a>, a company that provides financial industry data, 40 percent of hedge funds created in 2016 were “systematic,” meaning that they rely on computer models and algorithms to make trading decisions.</p> <p>Established trading firms and startups are starting to explore whether trading techniques that utilize <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/news/17/04/9271456/even-beer-companies-use-ai-and-machine-learning-technologies">artificial intelligence</a> can help them outsmart traditional traders. Historically, low volatility in the market is making things difficult for fundamental long/short equity managers.</p> <h3><strong>Changing Strategy For A Changing World</strong></h3> <p>“When you look at the volatility of the equity market right now, it is the lowest it has been in 50 years. That is a very difficult market for fundamentally &#8230;</p> <p><a href="https://www.benzinga.com/news/17/04/9277733/machine-learning-and-ai-new-report-shows-40-of-hedge-funds-created-last-year-were">Read more at Benzinga</a></p> <pre>Photo: Getty iStock</pre> ",
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534title_var: "Tesla Briefly Became the Most Valuable Auto Maker in the U.S on Monday",
535description_short: "A week after overtaking Ford as the second-most valuable auto maker in the U.S. according to stock value, Tesla briefly overtook General Motors on Monday for the top spot, the Wall Street Journal reports. As the Journal notes, shares in Tesla rose to $313.73 before noon, which pushed the company’s market capitalization to $51.17 billion and higher than GM's market cap of ",
536content_text: "<p>A week after overtaking Ford as the second-most valuable auto maker in the U.S. according to stock value, Tesla briefly overtook General Motors on Monday for the top spot, the <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/tesla-overtakes-gm-to-become-most-valuable-u-s-auto-maker-1491832043"><em>Wall Street Journal</em> </a>reports.</p> <p>As the <em>Journal</em> notes, shares in Tesla rose to $313.73 before noon, which pushed the company’s market capitalization to $51.17 billion and higher than GM&#8217;s market cap of $51.1 billion. Tesla&#8217;s gains eventually slowed and it fell just below GM&#8217;s market.</p> <blockquote><p>Still, that Tesla was able to pass GM underscores the profound change occurring in the global automotive industry as Silicon Valley pursues a vision for transportation—including self-driving cars and vehicles-on-demand—that could upend century-old competitors. Last week’s <a class="icon none" href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/auto-makers-post-mixed-sales-results-in-march-1491226520">disappointing monthly sales</a> results by traditional auto makers served as a further example to investors concerned that the profitable U.S. new-car market is plateauing.</p></blockquote> <p>The success of Elon&#8217;s Musk&#8217;s company could prove that Detroit will soon no longer be the capital of the auto industry in the U.S. The Motor City is home to the &#8220;Big Three&#8221; of GM, Ford and Chrysler, which were once so powerful that Jack White wrote a song about them for his band the White Stripes.</p> <p><div class="video-container"><iframe width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/K8CJbQtCziI?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div></p> <p>Tesla declined to comment to the <em>Journal</em>. However, a GM spokeswoman released a statement saying that the company is staying &#8220;focused on delivering outstanding results and making decisions to deploy capital where it will generate the strongest returns, to enhance shareholder value.”</p> <p>General Motors is still &#8220;the largest auto maker in the U.S. by market share, making up 17.3% of the sales last year, according to Autodata Corp.,&#8221; the <em>Journal</em> reports. &#8220;Tesla had a 0.2% share, which beat Ferrari and Maserati.&#8221;</p> <p>However, we will await to see if Musk&#8217;s baby eventually kills the Big Three.</p> <pre>Photo: Tesla</pre> ",
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563title_var: "Could Time-Blocking Replace Your To-Do List?",
564description_short: "A few years ago, my to-do list was an endless source of frustration. At the end of every day, it seemed like it had more items on it than when I started. I never seemed to get it all done. So, in an effort to understand what was going on, I began to track how I was spending my time ",
565content_text: "<p><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-25488" src="http://cdn2.nexchange.com/wp-cdn-img/wp-content/uploads/FastCompany_16_9-300x169.png" alt="FastCompany_16_9" width="300" height="169" srcset="https://wp.nexchange.com/wp-content/uploads/FastCompany_16_9-300x169.png 300w, https://wp.nexchange.com/wp-content/uploads/FastCompany_16_9.png 351w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></p> <article class="post__article"> <div> <p>A few years ago, my to-do list was an endless source of frustration. At the end of every day, it seemed like it had more items on it than when I started. I never seemed to get it all done.</p> </div> <div> <p>So, in an effort to understand what was going on, I began to track how I was spending my time and saw some interesting patterns emerge. As I learned more, I started applying a productivity-changing principle to my daily “get it done” list: time-blocking.</p> <p>Time-blocking is essentially organizing your day in a series of time slots. Instead of writing a list of tasks that take as long as they take, with a time-blocked approach, each of these time periods is devoted to a task or tasks. It immediately lets you see where you’re being unrealistic about your time and keep yourself focused on what you’re supposed to be doing.</p> <p>Giving every hour a job typically lets you make much more efficient use of your time, says Georgetown University professor <a href="http://calnewport.com/" target="_blank">Cal Newport</a>, author of <em><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Deep-Work-Focused-Success-Distracted/dp/1455586692/ref%3Dsr_1_1?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1490813817&amp;sr=1-1&amp;keywords=Deep+Work" target="_blank">Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World</a></em>. “This follows because it allows you to schedule work for the time where it makes the most sense—batching together small things, tackling hard things when you have the long stretches to make progress, and so on. The other advantage is that it provides you more accurate feedback on how much free time you actually have most days and how long certain recurring tasks actually take,” he says.</p> <p><strong>WHY TIME BLOCK?</strong></p> <p>Organizing your day through time blocks instead of to-dos makes sense because of the discipline and order it applies to your tasks, says time management expert <a href="https://www.kevinkruse.com/" target="_blank">Kevin Kruse</a>, author of <em><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/product/B016FPTIZ6/?tag=kevkru-20" target="_blank">15 Secrets Successful People Know About Time Management</a></em>. Research by productivity blog <em>I Done This</em> found that <a href="http://blog.idonethis.com/how-to-master-the-art-of-to-do-lists/" target="_blank">41% of to-do list items are never completed</a>. In Kruse’s own research he says the high-performers he interviewed never talked about their “to-do lists,” but instead talked about their calendars and how they were organized.</p> <p>Organizing your time instead of your tasks also has psychological benefits, Kruse says. There is also a psychological reason why time-blocking makes more sense. In what is known as <a href="http://www.spring.org.uk/2011/02/the-zeigarnik-effect.php" target="_blank">the Zeigarnik effect</a>, which basically states that we remember what we haven’t done better than what we have done, and uncompleted tasks weigh on us. “This can lead to stress and insomnia. However, when we have all of our tasks placed into a specific date, time, and duration, we sleep more soundly knowing everything that needs to get done is in its place,” Kruse says.</p> <p>So, if you’re ready to give it a shot, pull out your calendar and keep these tips in mind.</p> <p><strong>PAY ATTENTION TO CYCLES</strong></p> <p>Before you start slotting in tasks every 30 minutes or hour, think about how your energy and work both flow, says business strategist <a href="http://davidhorsager.com/" target="_blank">David Horsager</a>, CEO of the Trust Edge Leadership Institute, and an avid time-blocker. Are there work cycles that could affect how much uninterrupted time you will have? And what times of day do you have the most energy or are best suited to do the tasks you need to do?</p> </div> <div> <p>For example, if you know that Fridays are typically very busy in your office, you might want to allow more slack in your schedule than you ordinarily would. Also, if you know you hit an afternoon slump at 3 p.m., don’t schedule work where you’re going to need deep focus or creativity, as you’re likely to come up short, he says. Look at the times of day when you’re at your best and least likely to be disturbed and, as much as you can, plan your work accordingly.</p> <p>“Don’t schedule a hard task in a time of day where you typically lag, and don’t schedule a big task in a small amount of time. Wishful thinking can’t change the reality of your schedule,” Newport adds.</p> <p><strong>ALLOT ENOUGH TIME</strong></p> <p>“We chronically underestimate how long things will take,” Kruse says. So, we are constantly running over our time allocations and not getting to the things we have on our schedule. Kruse suggests including time-block buffer zones. In other words, add one to three 30-minute blocks of time so if you run over, you can bump another appointment into the buffer zone. And if you are on schedule, you can use that buffer time to think and recharge, or to get a jump on another event, Kruse says. If you’re chronically running late, revisit the amount of time you’re devoting to your tasks.</p> <p><strong>OFFLOAD DISTRACTIONS</strong></p> <p>You can be pretty sure that, as you’re being so productive in your time blocks, interruptions will try to take their toll, Horsager says. Do your best to eliminate them by turning off push notifications and, if possible, turning off your phone and letting calls go to voicemail. “I keep a stack of Post-it notes nearby so when I think of something else that needs to be done, I just jot it down so I remember it, then keep working on what I’m doing,” he says. He and his team also integrate a “power hour”—which is actually a “power 90 minutes”—where employees can focus on their work with no meetings and minimal interruptions, he says.</p> <p><strong>MAKE IT FLEXIBLE</strong></p> <p>“People’s biggest misconception with time-blocking their day is that the goal is to stick with the schedule no matter what,” Newport says. A better ways is to rework your time blocks throughout the day as circumstances change. The goal is to make sure they you always have an intentional plan for the time that remains in the workday, he adds.</p> </div> </article> <footer class="post__footer"> <div class="author author--post"> <p class="author__title"><em>Gwen Moran writes about business, money and assorted other topics for leading publications and web sites. She was named a Small Business Influencer Awards Top 100 Champion in 2015, 2014, and 2012 and is the co-author of The Complete Idiot&#8217;s Guide to Business Plans (Alpha, 2010), and several other books. Find her on Twitter <a href="http://twitter.com/gwenmoran">@gwenmoran.</a></em></p> <pre>Photo: Getty iStock</pre> </div> </footer> ",
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592title_var: "Why (Odd) Active Bond Managers Outperform More Often Than Active Equity Managers",
593description_short: "Bonds are very different from stocks, particularly when it comes to active management and it does not only have to do with odd personalities…. Active bond managers outperform their passive peers, a PIMCO Quantitative Research report noted. There are reasons for the divergence, the report noted, as well as reasons for concern regarding the passive takeover of investment markets. Active ",
594content_text: "<p><a href="http://www.valuewalk.com/"><img class="size-medium wp-image-15670 alignleft" src="http://cdn2.nexchange.com/wp-cdn-img/wp-content/uploads/rsz_valuewalk_medium_logo-300x155.jpg" alt="rsz_valuewalk_medium_logo" width="300" height="155" srcset="https://wp.nexchange.com/wp-content/uploads/rsz_valuewalk_medium_logo-300x155.jpg 300w, https://wp.nexchange.com/wp-content/uploads/rsz_valuewalk_medium_logo-825x430.jpg 825w, https://wp.nexchange.com/wp-content/uploads/rsz_valuewalk_medium_logo.jpg 833w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a></p> <p>Bonds are very different from stocks, particularly when it comes to active management and it does not only have to do<a href="http://www.institutionalinvestor.com/article/3708393/investors-registered-investment-advisers/why-are-bond-managers-weird.html" rel="nofollow"> with odd personalities</a>…. Active bond managers outperform their <a href="http://www.valuewalk.com/2017/01/boa-clients-stocks/">passive peers,</a> a PIMCO Quantitative Research report noted. There are reasons for the divergence, the report noted, as well as reasons for concern regarding the passive takeover of investment markets.</p> <p><img class="aligncenter wp-image-1934081 size-full" src="http://www.valuewalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/PIMCO-passive-vs-active-bonds-outperform.png" sizes="(max-width: 447px) 100vw, 447px" srcset="http://www.valuewalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/PIMCO-passive-vs-active-bonds-outperform.png 447w, http://www.valuewalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/PIMCO-passive-vs-active-bonds-outperform-225x300.png 225w, http://www.valuewalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/PIMCO-passive-vs-active-bonds-outperform-41x55.png 41w, http://www.valuewalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/PIMCO-passive-vs-active-bonds-outperform-338x450.png 338w, http://www.valuewalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/PIMCO-passive-vs-active-bonds-outperform-301x400.png 301w" alt="active bond managers" width="447" height="595" /></p> <h4>Active bond managers outperform their passive alternatives</h4> <p>On a ten-year basis, actively managed bond funds outperformed their passive investment ETF peers, the PIMCO study shows.</p> <p>It was short and intermediate bond funds that outperformed their passive ETF investment competition most consistently. Short term bond funds outperformed their passive alternatives 80% of the time on a 1-, 5- and 7-year basis. Intermediate bond funds beat 70% of similar passive ETFs on a 1-, 5- and 7-year basis.</p> <p>Contrast this with active equity managers and their <a href="http://www.valuewalk.com/2017/02/active-managers-inflows-2017/">passive counterparts</a>. Active equity funds, by contrast, only outperformed their passive ETF counterparts less than 40% of the time across most time horizons.</p> <p>There are numerous reasons for the differential, PIMCO observes in its April 2017 report titled “Bonds Are Different: Active Versus Passive Management in 12 Points.”</p> <p>Report authors Jamil Baz, Ravi Mattu, James Moore and Helen Guo point to seven primary points of difference that allow active bond managers to outperform their equity counterparts by such a notable margin and on a consistent basis.</p> <p><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-1934082" src="http://www.valuewalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/PIMCO-passive-vs-active-noneconoimc-factor.png" sizes="(max-width: 445px) 100vw, 445px" srcset="http://www.valuewalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/PIMCO-passive-vs-active-noneconoimc-factor.png 445w, http://www.valuewalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/PIMCO-passive-vs-active-noneconoimc-factor-300x282.png 300w, http://www.valuewalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/PIMCO-passive-vs-active-noneconoimc-factor-58x55.png 58w, http://www.valuewalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/PIMCO-passive-vs-active-noneconoimc-factor-425x400.png 425w" alt="" width="445" height="419" /></p> <h4>Active bond fund managers outperform for specific reasons</h4> <p>There are a wide range of financial derivatives available to active bond managers that are not available to stock pickers, the report noted. With a host of low cost derivatives offering cheaper holding costs than the physical product, active bond managers can use currency SWAPs, listed futures and credit default SWAPs to engage in what PIMCO categorized as “smart” strategies such as carry, value and momentum, each of which “have historically displayed substantially positive Sharpe ratios.” PIMCO founder Bill Gross was known to be an early <a href="http://www.valuewalk.com/2015/05/bill-gross-smithsonian/">advocate for derivatives-based strategies</a>.</p> <p>The bond market is filled with noneconomic investors which make active investing more profitable, the report noted. Central banks buy bonds to depreciate their currency exposure, for instance, while banks and insurance companies hedge yield exposure. In fact, by PIMCO’s accounting such noneconomic buyers make up nearly 47% of the $102 trillion global bond market.</p> <p>Another factor influencing the outperformance of active bond managers is the rebalancing, which can cost more in bond funds. Further, new issuance can<a href="http://www.valuewalk.com/2017/03/active-passive-vs-diy-investing/"> influence the differential</a>. “The contribution of a strong presence in the new issuance market to performance for equity would be much less significant compared with that for bonds,” the report observed. In stocks “listed companies today are bigger, older and better established than they were two decades ago,” as “greater informational efficiency” has led to “fewer material mispricing in the U.S. stock market.” In bonds, where research is not as prevalent, the opportunity for an active bond manager to find opportunity is greater.</p> <p>Other factors in active bond funds outperforming their passive counterparts include new issue concessions and structural tilts in fixed income that favor active managers.</p> <p>In the active versus passive debate, there has always been the issue beyond returns. What happens if the <a href="http://www.valuewalk.com/2016/11/boa-investors-continue-dump-equities-buy-bonds/">entire stock market becomes passive</a>? Will the market’s role in price discovery be compromised?</p> <p>Here PIMCO weighs in on the affirmative.</p> <p><a href="http://www.valuewalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/PIMCO-passive-vs-active-bonds-outperform-big-chart.png"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-1934080" src="http://www.valuewalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/PIMCO-passive-vs-active-bonds-outperform-big-chart.png" sizes="(max-width: 931px) 100vw, 931px" srcset="http://www.valuewalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/PIMCO-passive-vs-active-bonds-outperform-big-chart.png 931w, http://www.valuewalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/PIMCO-passive-vs-active-bonds-outperform-big-chart-300x172.png 300w, http://www.valuewalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/PIMCO-passive-vs-active-bonds-outperform-big-chart-768x440.png 768w, http://www.valuewalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/PIMCO-passive-vs-active-bonds-outperform-big-chart-96x55.png 96w, http://www.valuewalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/PIMCO-passive-vs-active-bonds-outperform-big-chart-786x450.png 786w, http://www.valuewalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/PIMCO-passive-vs-active-bonds-outperform-big-chart-699x400.png 699w" alt="" width="931" height="533" /></a>“At a macro level, we believe that a purely passive market would cause severe market risk and resource misallocations,” they concluded, pointing out that the best markets are those with a balance of passive and active funds. “There is reason to believe that, unchecked, passive management may encourage free riding, adverse selection, and moral hazard.”</p> <figure id="attachment_1934080" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img class="wp-image-1934080 size-full" src="http://www.valuewalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/PIMCO-passive-vs-active-bonds-outperform-big-chart.png" sizes="(max-width: 931px) 100vw, 931px" srcset="http://www.valuewalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/PIMCO-passive-vs-active-bonds-outperform-big-chart.png 931w, http://www.valuewalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/PIMCO-passive-vs-active-bonds-outperform-big-chart-300x172.png 300w, http://www.valuewalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/PIMCO-passive-vs-active-bonds-outperform-big-chart-768x440.png 768w, http://www.valuewalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/PIMCO-passive-vs-active-bonds-outperform-big-chart-96x55.png 96w, http://www.valuewalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/PIMCO-passive-vs-active-bonds-outperform-big-chart-786x450.png 786w, http://www.valuewalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/PIMCO-passive-vs-active-bonds-outperform-big-chart-699x400.png 699w" alt="Active bond fund" width="931" height="533" /></p> <figcaption class="wp-caption-text"> <h5>Active bond fund</h5> </figcaption> </figure> <p><em>This article was originally published in <a href="http://www.valuewalk.com/2017/04/active-bond-managers-vs-index/">ValueWalk</a>.</em></p> <pre>Photo: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jdhancock/6206667510/">JD Hancock</a></pre> ",
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621title_var: "Standard Life Consolidates Greater China Units",
622description_short: "Edinburgh-based insurer Standard Life will sell its Hong Kong subsidiary to its mainland Chinese joint venture. Heng An Standard Life Insurance, the buyer, is a 50-50 joint venture set up by Standard Life in 2003 with Tianjin TEDA International. The purchase of Hong Kong-based Standard Life (Asia), set up in 1999, is subject to regulatory approval and may take up ",
623content_text: "<p>Edinburgh-based insurer Standard Life will sell its Hong Kong subsidiary to its mainland Chinese joint venture.</p> <p>Heng An Standard Life Insurance, the buyer, is a 50-50 joint venture set up by Standard Life in 2003 with Tianjin TEDA International. The purchase of Hong Kong-based Standard Life (Asia), set up in 1999, is subject to regulatory approval and may take up to 18 months to complete, with the purchase price calculated on completion and payable in cash.</p> <p>Sandy Begbie, executive lead (insurance) for China at Standard Life, says that combining the businesses, “will form a stronger, single base allowing us to continue to innovate and meet the evolving needs of our Chinese and Hong Kong customers, while also enhancing our growth potential”.</p> <p>The combined business will have insurance licences for serving customers in mainland China and Hong Kong, said Zhenyu Liu, general manager, Heng An Standard Life.</p> <p>“It will be another important step for the business, allowing access to more markets,” said Liu.</p> <p><strong>©2017 funds global asia</strong></p> <p><em>This article was originally published in <a href="http://www.fundsglobalasia.com/news/standard-life-consolidates-greater-china-units">Funds Global Asia</a>.</em></p> <pre>Photo: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/obscurepixels/12695364395/">24x7photo.com</a></pre> ",
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650title_var: "HSBC Hits Huishan Dairy With Default Claim",
651description_short: "China Huishan Dairy Holdings Co. (6863.HK) said HSBC Holdings PLC 0005 has claimed that it is in violation of the terms of a US$200 million loan agreement. Read more at MarketWatch. Photo: Baycrest &nbsp;",
652content_text: "<p><a href="http://www.marketwatch.com/?mod=nexchange"><img class="size-medium wp-image-7204 alignleft" src="http://cdn2.nexchange.com/wp-cdn-img/wp-content/uploads/MarketWatch_Main1-300x57.png" alt="MarketWatch_Main[1]" width="300" height="57" srcset="https://wp.nexchange.com/wp-content/uploads/MarketWatch_Main1-300x57.png 300w, https://wp.nexchange.com/wp-content/uploads/MarketWatch_Main1.png 800w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a></p> <p>China Huishan Dairy Holdings Co. (6863.HK) said HSBC Holdings PLC <span class="quote"><a class="qt-chip trackable" href="http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/0005?countrycode=&amp;mod=MW_story_quote" data-track-mod="MW_story_quote">0005</a></span> has claimed that it is in violation of the terms of a US$200 million loan agreement.</p> <p><em>Read more at <a href="http://www.marketwatch.com/story/hsbc-hits-huishan-dairy-with-default-claim-2017-04-11?mod=nexchange">MarketWatch</a>.</em></p> <pre>Photo: <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:HK_HSBC_Main_Building.jpg">Baycrest</a></pre> <p>&nbsp;</p> ",
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679title_var: "How to Get Into an Ivy League School — by Someone Who Got Into 6 of Them",
680description_short: "We’re in the midst of college admissions season, which means a flood of news coverage about how tough it is to get into the nation’s most selective schools and profiles of students who managed to score spots at the most prestigious colleges. Read more at MarketWatch. Photo: Joseph Williams",
681content_text: "<p><a href="http://www.marketwatch.com/?mod=nexchange"><img class="size-medium wp-image-7204 alignleft" src="http://cdn2.nexchange.com/wp-cdn-img/wp-content/uploads/MarketWatch_Main1-300x57.png" alt="MarketWatch_Main[1]" width="300" height="57" srcset="https://wp.nexchange.com/wp-content/uploads/MarketWatch_Main1-300x57.png 300w, https://wp.nexchange.com/wp-content/uploads/MarketWatch_Main1.png 800w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a></p> <p>We’re in the midst of college admissions season, which means a flood of news coverage about how tough it is to get into the nation’s <a class="icon " href="http://www.businessinsider.com/ivy-league-harvard-yale-princeton-acceptance-rates-class-of-2021-2017-3" target="_new">most selective schools</a> and <a class="icon " href="http://fortune.com/2017/04/06/ivy-league-school-acceptance/" target="_new">profiles of students</a> who managed to <a class="icon " href="http://kron4.com/2017/04/06/ohio-quadruplet-brothers-accepted-at-ivy-league-universities/" target="_new">score spots</a> at the most prestigious colleges.</p> <p><em>Read more at <a href="http://www.marketwatch.com/story/how-to-get-into-an-ivy-league-school-by-someone-who-got-into-6-of-them-2017-04-10?mod=nexchange">MarketWatch</a>.</em></p> <pre>Photo: <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Harvard_University_Widener_Library.jpg">Joseph Williams</a></pre> ",
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708title_var: "Emerging Monetary Divergence",
709description_short: "SUMMARY Emerging Monetary Divergence When It Comes To Debt, How Long is Too Long? “Soft” Data versus “Hard” Data Over the last decade, a combination of unprecedented global financial integration and unconventional monetary policy in global financial centers created new challenges for central banks in emerging markets (EM). Faced with the ebbs and flows of capital that followed changes in ",
710content_text: "<p><a href="https://www.advisorperspectives.com/"><img class="size-medium wp-image-14866 alignleft" src="http://cdn2.nexchange.com/wp-cdn-img/wp-content/uploads/AD_Pers_LOGO21-300x54.gif" alt="AD_Pers_LOGO2" width="300" height="54" /></a></p> <div class="summary"><strong>SUMMARY</strong></div> <div class="summaryBoxOuter"> <div id="summaryBoxInner"> <div class="bulletedSummary short"> <ul> <li>Emerging Monetary Divergence</li> <li>When It Comes To Debt, How Long is Too Long?</li> <li>“Soft” Data versus “Hard” Data</li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> <div class="htmlSummary"> <p>Over the last decade, a combination of unprecedented global financial integration and unconventional monetary policy in global financial centers created new challenges for central banks in emerging markets (EM). Faced with the ebbs and flows of capital that followed changes in the monetary stance at the U.S. Federal Reserve, EM monetary policy makers were forced to align their stances with the U.S. to avoid violent currency moves or financial instability.</p> <p>Often, this defensive posture ran counter to the needs of their domestic economies. This was acutely visible during the so-called “taper tantrum” during the summer of 2013, when Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke hinted at reductions in the Fed’s asset purchases. The remarks prompted an outflow of capital from EMs. Central banks from India to Brazil reacted by tightening monetary conditions to stem the flight of capital, despite fairly tepid domestic economic activity.</p> <p>So as the Fed promises to reduce its balance sheet and deliver a total of 3-4 interest hikes this year, and speculation continues about tapering asset purchases by the European Central Bank, one might have expected EM central banks to follow suit and become more restrictive. But they haven’t—and they won’t. Times have changed.</p> <p>Among major EMs, many are either expected to cut policy rates (Russia, Brazil, Chile and Colombia) or hold steady (including South Africa, India and Korea). Exceptions are Hungary, Malaysia, Turkey and Mexico, where either inflation remains high or politics are weighing on the currency.</p> <p><a class="galleryImg" href="https://www.advisorperspectives.com/images/content_image/data/4e/4e4c5732a189321ee688dd653202780b.jpg"><img class="ap-lazy-image loaded" src="https://www.advisorperspectives.com/images/content_image/data/4e/4e4c5732a189321ee688dd653202780b.jpg" width="700" height="315" data-src="/images/content_image/data/4e/4e4c5732a189321ee688dd653202780b.jpg" /></a></p> <p>A number of factors are driving the divergence in monetary policy between developed and developing nations.</p> <p><em>Read more at <a href="https://www.advisorperspectives.com/commentaries/2017/04/07/emerging-monetary-divergence-1">Advisor Perspectives</a>.</em></p> <pre>Photo: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/m4dgroup/6001102681/">M4D Group</a></pre> </div> ",
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737title_var: "The ABCs of Startup Finance",
738description_short: "It’s fantastic to change the world with a startup and the experience can be intoxicating, especially if there is growth. But this creates the temptation to ignore details like startup finance, which can then lead to the startup graveyard. Before changing the world, first a company has to survive. And survival requires an understanding of basic startup finance. Some people ",
739content_text: "<p>It’s fantastic to change the world with a startup and the experience can be intoxicating, especially if there is <a href="http://www.paulgraham.com/growth.html" target="_blank">growth</a>.</p> <p>But this creates the temptation to ignore details like startup finance, which can then lead to the <a href="https://www.cbinsights.com/blog/startup-failure-post-mortem/" target="_blank">startup graveyard</a>. Before changing the world, first a company has to survive. And survival requires an understanding of basic startup finance.</p> <p>Some people believe that this means using large and complicated spreadsheets and a team of financial experts. But these supposedly sophisticated approaches can result in more confusion than clarity.</p> <p>Forget spreadsheets, think <a href="http://imaginezen.com/napkins-vs-spreadsheets/" target="_blank">napkins</a>. Better to focus on the basics, the ABCs of startup finance:</p> <p><strong>A</strong> is for Accruals<br /> <strong>B</strong> is for Balance Sheet<br /> <strong>C</strong> is for Cash Flow</p> <p><strong>A is for Accruals</strong></p> <p>If you are running a software as a service company with a customer who prepays a one year contract for US$1,200, that’s great for your cash flow. Your revenue, however, is US$100 for that first month because revenue can only be recognized in line with the business services provided.</p> <p>This example highlights the essence of accruals, which match revenues with costs when calculating profits. This is the core idea underlying the income statement, otherwise known as the P&amp;L (you can technically use a cash based P&amp;L but very quickly you will run into the need to understand accrual based accounting, so better to start sooner rather than later).</p> <p>Because accrual profits are not exactly cash, the P&amp;L is like a movie based on a true story. The core message of the P&amp;L is usually similar to the underlying reality of what happened, but typically the details are changed for the sake of maintaining the story. At the extreme, even the core message can be distorted to the point where the P&amp;L does not represent reality in any way. It is possible to be a profitable company and still run out of cash.</p> <p><strong>B is for Balance Sheet</strong></p> <p>A startup with a cash position of US$50 million may appear healthy at first glance when looking at the balance sheet. If, however, that cash was generated solely from selling equity to investors, then the cash by itself does not actually give much context about the level of health.</p> <p>Thus, although the most important number on a balance sheet for an early stage startup is the cash balance, it is only the starting point for thinking about the company’s financial position. Cash must be placed in context as part of the overall balance sheet and also cash flow changes over time.</p> <p>If the P&amp;L is like a movie based on a true story, then the balance sheet is like a photo. The star of this photo is the cash balance but the balance sheet also captures many other details, some more important than others, at a specific point in time. Moreover, to truly understand a business, these snapshots in time needed to be connected together.</p> <p><strong>C is for Cash Flow</strong></p> <p>Accounting can get very complicated but at the end of the day everything is related to cash flow. A fast growing company with US$1 billion in revenues may actually have negative cash flow because of high working capital needs.</p> <p>There are different categories of cash flow, and it is important to not get confused by things which sound like cash flow but are not. EBITDA, EBITA and other acronyms are not cash flow, even though some people refer to them by that name. True cash flow includes all cash in and cash out, with no exceptions.</p> <p>If the P&amp;L is like a movie based on a true story and the balance sheet is like a photo, then the cash flow statement is like a documentary. It’s raw and messy, which means that sometimes it can be difficult to keep track of the key themes. At its core, however, the cash flow statement usually does the best job of capturing the reality of a company.</p> <p><strong>Connecting the ABCs</strong></p> <p>Accruals, balance sheet and cash flow are not independent of one another; they are fundamentally connected. Changes in the P&amp;L are reflected in each balance sheet and the cash flow statement can be reconciled by comparing the P&amp;L to changes in the balance sheet.</p> <p>The typical approach to accounting is to start with the details and ignore the underlying structure, which results in an incomplete understanding. Instead, take a holistic approach, being with the key concepts, and then the details will naturally become easier to appreciate.</p> <p>Start with the ABCs and then, once you understand them, you can move on to other <a href="http://a16z.com/2015/08/21/16-metrics/" target="_blank">metrics</a>.</p> <p><em>This article was originally published in <a href="http://fresco.vc/the-abcs-of-startup-finance/">Fresco Capital</a>.</em></p> <pre>Photo: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/twicepix/7923685928/">Martin Abegglen</a></pre> ",
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766title_var: "Attention Blockchain Startups, Porsche Wants You!",
767description_short: "Supercars and blockchain? I know, right? The two don’t really go hand in hand. Nevertheless, the vaunted Stuttgart-based automaker is raring to learn more about it. Earlier this month, Porsche unveiled the Porsche Innovation Contest (h/t CoinDesk), a startup competition with prizes such as a EUR25,000 pot, a 3-month stint at SpinLab – The HHL Accelerator, and a pilot project ",
768content_text: "<p>Supercars and blockchain? I know, right? The two don’t really go hand in hand. Nevertheless, the vaunted Stuttgart-based automaker is raring to learn more about it.</p> <p>Earlier this month, Porsche unveiled the <a href="https://newsroom.porsche.com/en/themes/porsche-digital/porsche-innovation-contest-startup-blockchain-technology-13606.html">Porsche Innovation Contest</a> (h/t <a href="http://www.coindesk.com/porsche-seeks-blockchain-companies-startup-competition/">CoinDesk</a>), a startup competition with prizes such as a EUR25,000 pot, a 3-month stint at SpinLab – The HHL Accelerator, and a pilot project with the sport car manufacturer. It’s primarily aimed at startups focused on blockchain technology.</p> <p>Why are they doing this? Well, here’s what they had to say:</p> <blockquote><p>Porsche aims to obtain external input on the disruptive potential of the blockchain transaction system by collaborating with the start-up scene. The central question is to what extent the application of this technology in the value creation chain of the company makes sense. Moreover, other forms of potential long-term collaboration will be investigated.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="http://www.spinlab.co/porsche-innovation-competition.html">SpinLab meanwhile says that</a> Porsche merely hopes to gain future suppliers and partners through the contest. It doesn’t want to take any equity stake in them, just to create solid future relationships and find out how blockchain can make the company better. Interesting, no?</p> <p>In any case, this isn’t the first time an automaker looked into blockchain’s potential. Earlier this year, Mercedez Benz’s parent company, Daimler AG, <a href="https://www.hyperledger.org/announcements/2017/02/20/hyperledger-gains-daimler-ag-as-premier-member">announced that it will be joining the Hyperledger Project</a> as a Premiere member. Much like Porsche, Daimler’s aim is to learn more about blockchain, though obviously the two just want to position themselves well for any potential upsides it may bring. Here’s Jan Brecht, CIO, Daimler AG:</p> <blockquote><p><em>“</em>We see Blockchain as a promising technology, not fully mature yet, but continuously growing. Now is the right time to get into it, build up knowledge and form a network of like-minded people to share experiences…By joining Hyperledger, we are confident to do the right step towards this direction.”</p></blockquote> <p>Your move, BMW?</p> <p><i>Fintech startups! Have your product adopted by a global financial player!<br /> </i></p> <p><i>Citi HK FinTech Challenge 2017 is a competition to encourage developers and FinTech companies from aorund the world to develop innovative solutions with Citi’s APIs to enhance the banking experience and solve business pain points. Through the Challenge, Citibank aims to arouse public interest on FinTech development while accelerating its use in the financial services industry and at the same time benefiting the general public by bringing more innovative solutions to the market.</i></p> <p><i>Find out more <a href="https://www.citibank.com.hk/english/banking/hk-fintech-challenge2017.html" target="_blank" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&amp;q=https://www.citibank.com.hk/english/banking/hk-fintech-challenge2017.html&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1492562809863000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHP0pfL6GltzBfYeKclmohU6DlVxg">here!</a></i></p> <pre>Photo: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/a-m-photo/2297664216/">Manik.</a></pre> ",
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795title_var: "Wall Street Knows What Teens Like",
796description_short: "If you’ve recently found yourself frustrated by trying to decipher the mind of an American teenager, Piper Jaffray has some good news. A recent survey of 5,500 teens revealed exactly what teens like, and the answer is simple: Chick-fil-A, Nike Inc (NYSE: NKE) and Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN). While marketers scramble to appeal to the maturing Millennial generation, the younger ",
797content_text: "<p><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-15531" src="http://cdn2.nexchange.com/wp-cdn-img/wp-content/uploads/rsz_benzinga_main-300x169.png" alt="rsz_benzinga_main" width="300" height="169" srcset="https://wp.nexchange.com/wp-content/uploads/rsz_benzinga_main-300x169.png 300w, https://wp.nexchange.com/wp-content/uploads/rsz_benzinga_main.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></p> <p>If you’ve recently found yourself frustrated by trying to decipher the mind of an American teenager, <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/2017/04/09/survey-shows-what-teens-like-chic-fil-a-starbucks-amazon-and-nike.html">Piper Jaffray</a> has some good news. A recent survey of 5,500 teens revealed exactly what teens like, and the answer is simple: <strong>Chick-fil-A</strong>, <strong>Nike Inc</strong> (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/nke#NYSE">NKE</a>) and <strong>Amazon.com, Inc.</strong> (NASDAQ: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/amzn#NASDAQ">AMZN</a>).</p> <p>While marketers scramble to appeal to the maturing Millennial generation, the younger Generation Z represents the future American consumer. Generation Z is comprised of Americans born since the mid-1990s, and several companies have already earned its loyalty.</p> <h3><strong>Fave Eats</strong></h3> <p>According to Piper Jaffray, Chick-fil-A topped the list of teens’ favorite restaurants, followed by <strong>Starbucks Corporation</strong> (NASDAQ: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/sbux#NASDAQ">SBUX</a>) and <strong>Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc.</strong> (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/cmg#NYSE">CMG</a>). In addition, the &#8230;</p> <p><a href="https://www.benzinga.com/analyst-ratings/analyst-color/17/04/9283261/wall-street-knows-what-teens-like?utm_source=feedburner&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_campaign=Feed%3A+benzinga%2Ftech+%28Channels+-+Tech%29">Read more at Benzinga</a>.</p> <pre>Photo: Chic-fil-A</pre> ",
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824title_var: "United Airlines Has Quite the PR Disaster on its Hands",
825description_short: "Just last week Pepsi endured an embarrassing backlash over an excessively tone-deaf commercial starring Kendall Jenner that tried to weave resistance movements like Black Lives Matters into a story about how a can of Pepsi can bridge the gap between protesters and police and bring all of America together in perfect harmony. It's hard to overstate how horribly Pepsi's commercial ",
826content_text: "<p>Just last week Pepsi endured an embarrassing backlash over an <a href="https://www.wired.com/2017/04/pepsi-ad-internet-response/">excessively tone-deaf commercial</a> starring Kendall Jenner that tried to weave resistance movements like Black Lives Matters into a story about how a can of Pepsi can bridge the gap between protesters and police and bring all of America together in perfect harmony.</p> <p>It&#8217;s hard to overstate how horribly Pepsi&#8217;s commercial went over with the public, leading the company to pull the ad almost immediately. But fast forward a week and Pepsi&#8217;s PR turbulence seems like a quaint little rain storm compared to the self-inflicted public relations disaster United Airlines has on its hands.</p> <p>By now you know the story: David Dao, a 69-year-old doctor from Kentucky was <a href="http://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/2017/04/10/video-shows-man-forcibly-removed-united-flight-chicago-louisville/100274374/">forcibly removed from his seat</a> on a United flight heading to Louisville from Chicago. As these things tend to happen in 2017, a fellow passenger filmed the incident on her phone showing a bloodied Dao being roughed up after he refused to give up his seat &#8211; and the video then went viral on the internet, drawing the ire of everyone f<a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/united-airlines-kicks-off-passenger-ticks-off-china-1491910982">rom the U.S. to China</a>.</p> <p>United CEO Oscar Munoz initially issued an apology for the incident, but in <a href="http://gizmodo.com/united-ceo-doubles-down-blames-passenger-who-got-his-a-1794203925">a letter later sent to employees</a> he decided to place the blame on Dao.</p> <blockquote><p>Dear Team,</p> <p>Like you, I was upset to see and hear about what happened last night aboard United Express Flight 3411 headed from Chicago to Louisville. While the facts and circumstances are still evolving, especially with respect to why this customer defied Chicago Aviation Security Officers the way he did, to give you a clearer picture of what transpired, I’ve included below a recap from the preliminary reports filed by our employees.</p> <p>As you will read, this situation was unfortunately compounded when one of the passengers we politely asked to deplane refused and it became necessary to contact Chicago Aviation Security Officers to help. Our employees followed established procedures for dealing with situations like this. While I deeply regret this situation arose, I also emphatically stand behind all of you, and I want to commend you for continuing to go above and beyond to ensure we fly right.</p> <p>I do, however, believe there are lessons we can learn from this experience, and we are taking a close look at the circumstances surrounding this incident. Treating our customers and each other with respect and dignity is at the core of who we are, and we must always remember this no matter how challenging the situation.</p> <p>Oscar</p></blockquote> <p>This letter did not go over well with everyone outside of United, as <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-04-11/united-airlines-tumbles-as-social-media-storm-spreads-worldwide"><em>Bloomberg</em></a> reports.</p> <blockquote><p>“It was probably the most tone-deaf response I’ve seen to this type of issue &#8212; possibly ever,” Scott Galloway, a professor of marketing at New York University, said on Bloomberg Television. “It’s as if they literally sat around and thought, ‘how could we make a bad situation worse.’&#8221;</p> <p>The stock dropped 2.5 percent to $69.74 at 1:02 p.m. Tuesday in New York, marking the second-biggest decline on a Bloomberg index of U.S. airlines.</p></blockquote> <p>United&#8217;s market dropped about $750 million since the incident, according to <a href="http://gizmodo.com/united-loses-800-million-in-value-after-passenger-drag-1794208511"><em>Gizmodo</em></a>. We have a feeling United might find a way to bring up <a href="http://nypost.com/2017/04/11/doctor-dragged-off-flight-convicted-of-trading-drugs-for-sex/">Dao&#8217;s murky legal past</a> as it tries to repair the PR damage.</p> <pre>Photo: United Airlines</pre> ",
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853title_var: "Five Lessons This Longtime Bicyclist Learned as a First-Time Business Owner",
854description_short: "When Chris Nolte returned home after serving in the Iraq War, he found that he couldn’t ride a bike the same way he used to. In 2002, Nolte had sustained a painful back injury when a truck he was riding in careened into a ditch, and although he recovered, his back still hurt years later while cycling, a longtime hobby of his. Undaunted, Nolte ",
855content_text: "<p><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-25488" src="http://cdn2.nexchange.com/wp-cdn-img/wp-content/uploads/FastCompany_16_9-300x169.png" alt="FastCompany_16_9" width="300" height="169" srcset="https://wp.nexchange.com/wp-content/uploads/FastCompany_16_9-300x169.png 300w, https://wp.nexchange.com/wp-content/uploads/FastCompany_16_9.png 351w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></p> <div> <p>When Chris Nolte returned home after serving in the Iraq War, he found that he couldn’t ride a bike the same way he used to. In 2002, Nolte had sustained a painful back injury when a truck he was riding in careened into a ditch, and although he recovered, his back still hurt years later while cycling, a longtime hobby of his. Undaunted, Nolte set out to find a new way to ride.</p> </div> <div> <p>He ordered an electric-assisted bicycle conversion kit online and transformed his old bike into a motorized ride. “You pedal and basically the bike amplifies what you put into it,” he says. “You feel that you’re riding, and you feel that you’re stronger than you actually are.” That experience led Nolte to open his own electric-assisted bike shop in 2011.</p> <p>As CEO and founder of the Brooklyn-based Propel Bikes, Nolte now looks back and says his experience as a new entrepreneur was actually pretty similar to learning to ride a bike. Both are tricky balancing acts that take patience, practice, and constant on-the-fly recalibration. These are a few of the lessons Nolte says he drew on as an avid cyclist when it came to setting up his business.</p> <h5>1. PLAN YOUR ROUTE AHEAD OF TIME, THEN STAY THE COURSE</h5> <p>Some founders aren’t the best planners. They leave a lot to chance and try to adapt according to the circumstances. But long-distance cyclists usually prefer a more deliberate approach, and for good reason. One of the first things Nolte did after conceiving Propel Bikes was to carefully plot out a step-by-step business plan. “Planning a long bike ride also involves strategically thinking ahead, including mapping the basics of your route—key points of interest, where you will stop, take stock, and regroup, and, more importantly, where your ultimate destination is,” he says.</p> <p>“Be sure to do the same with your startup,” he advises. “Don’t just dive in without a plan because, just as it is in biking, you could get lost or way off track . . . or never get where you wanted to go at all.”</p> <h5>2. OBSTACLES IN MIRROR ARE CLOSER THAN THEY APPEAR</h5> <p>For cyclists, hazards are inevitable. So the more you know, the better prepared you’ll be to face the unexpected challenges you <em>can’t</em> prepare for. Some of this comes down to tapping into the knowledge networks around you, whether it’s a cycling community or a business one. Says Nolte, “I learned about electric-assist bikes by building my own through trial and error, and by asking a lot of questions from people in the know.” That way, he says, “I knew which hurdles I had to clear when I started and what snafus to steer away from,” even though it was a novel pursuit.</p> <h5>3. DON’T SPRINT RIGHT FROM THE START</h5> <p>Nolte says that running your own business means playing the long game. Every experienced cyclist knows how crucial it is to conserve your energy and not blow it at the start. “Just as riding in a long race, it isn’t wise to wind yourself early by pedaling really fast right out of the gate,” he cautions. “Move with foresight and intention instead, thinking all the while about your business goals and how much time you’ve allotted to reach them. Then adjust your speed depending on the urgency of the deadlines you set for them.”</p> <h5>4. MINIMIZE DISTRACTIONS AND KEEP YOUR EYES ON THE ROAD</h5> <p>While it’s enjoyable to casually explore your surroundings when biking, it’s also important to stay focused on what’s coming right at you, straight ahead. “If you look at something in your periphery for too long, you tend to veer away in that direction—or, worse, crash,” Nolte says. “The same goes for business,” he’s found. The “random details” that crossed his desk each day sometimes seemed like bigger problems than they were. Those routine operational worries that every entrepreneur confronts trying to get a new business off the ground become get overwhelming—if you let them. “If you get too lost in the weeds,” says Nolte, “you might not see the bigger picture of where your business is headed.”</p> <h5>5. DON’T SWEAT THE COMPETITION—JUST REMEMBER THEY’RE THERE</h5> <p>“When you’re riding competitively, you’ll want to see where you stack up against the competition,” Nolte says. “If you’re behind, how much harder do you have to pedal to position yourself ahead of them?” In a long bike race, competitors fan out. You often won’t know how many cyclists are ahead of you—and by how much—and how many are behind. But there’s a danger in fixating on your position in the pack.</p> <p>“In business, it’s okay to keep your eye on your competitors, but you’re running your own race at the start, a race to survive the first year and beyond,” Nolte points out. “If you succeed, there will be plenty of time to catch up with the more experienced and established.”</p> <p>He adds, “You’re in this for the long haul.”</p> <pre>Photo: Getty iStock</pre> </div> ",
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882title_var: "Mirae Launches Multi-Asset Asia-Pacific Fund",
883description_short: "Korea-based fund manager Mirae Asset has launched a multi-asset Ucits fund domiciled in Luxembourg. The firm says its Hong Kong subsidiary is the principal investment manager of the fund while MAPS Capital Management, an affiliate firm, is the investment manager. “The rapid transformation undertaken in Asia over the past decades has opened up many attractive investment channels and significantly expanded ",
884content_text: "<p>Korea-based fund manager Mirae Asset has launched a multi-asset Ucits fund domiciled in Luxembourg.</p> <p>The firm says its Hong Kong subsidiary is the principal investment manager of the fund while MAPS Capital Management, an affiliate firm, is the investment manager.</p> <p>“The rapid transformation undertaken in Asia over the past decades has opened up many attractive investment channels and significantly expanded the risk opportunity set,” said Curtis Yuen, senior quantitative analyst at MAPS Capital Management. “We think the environment for multi-asset investing in the region is ripe.”</p> <p>The Mirae Asset Asia Pacific Multi-Asset Income Fund is a sub-fund of the Mirae Asset Global Discovery Fund Sicav. The firm plans to register the fund for sale in Asia and Europe.</p> <p>Incorporated in Hong Kong in 2012, MAPS Capital Management manages several Cayman Islands-domiciled hedge funds.</p> <p>At the end of February, Mirae Asset had $99 billion of client assets.</p> <p><strong>©2017 funds global asia</strong></p> <p><em>This article was originally published in <a href="http://www.fundsglobalasia.com/news/mirae-launches-multi-asset-asia-pacific-fund">Funds Global Asia</a>.</em></p> <pre>Photo: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/104426296@N07/20263608920/">?? ?</a></pre> ",
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911title_var: "Hedge Funds See 2.29% Gains for 1Q 2017",
912description_short: "Hedge funds gained 0.34% during the month of March, bringing its first quarter performance to a gain of 2.29%. Meanwhile underlying markets as represented by the MSCI AC World Index (Local) gained 0.79% during the month, with first quarter gains of 5.06%. March was marked by investor scepticism over the Trump administration as proposed healthcare reforms to replace Obama’s Affordable ",
913content_text: "<p><a href="http://www.valuewalk.com/"><img class="size-medium wp-image-15670 alignleft" src="http://cdn2.nexchange.com/wp-cdn-img/wp-content/uploads/rsz_valuewalk_medium_logo-300x155.jpg" alt="rsz_valuewalk_medium_logo" width="300" height="155" srcset="https://wp.nexchange.com/wp-content/uploads/rsz_valuewalk_medium_logo-300x155.jpg 300w, https://wp.nexchange.com/wp-content/uploads/rsz_valuewalk_medium_logo-825x430.jpg 825w, https://wp.nexchange.com/wp-content/uploads/rsz_valuewalk_medium_logo.jpg 833w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a></p> <p>Hedge funds gained 0.34% during the month of March, bringing its first quarter performance to a gain of 2.29%. Meanwhile underlying markets as represented by the MSCI AC World Index (Local) gained 0.79% during the month, with first quarter gains of 5.06%.</p> <p>March was marked by investor scepticism over the Trump administration as proposed healthcare reforms to replace Obama’s Affordable Care Act did not meet intended outcomes. This led to an overall cautious sentiment in the market over the administration’s ability to deliver reforms in other sectors as promised during Trump’s campaign. Aside from developments in the White House, the Fed has delivered on market expectations by raising the interest rate in March though the pace of interest rate hike remains largely unchanged at an average of three rate hikes for the year. Outside of the US, the triggering of Article 50 has kick-started the official Brexit process. Strength in the Eurozone inflation rate has also propped up expectations of tightening from the ECB, which could see a convergence of monetary policy outlook for the world’s major central banks in the next 12 months.</p> <h4>Below are the key highlights for the month of March 2017:</h4> <ul> <li>Hedge funds gained 0.34% in March with underlying markets, as represented by the MSCI AC World Index (Local) up 0.79% over the same period. On a year-to-date basis, managers gained 2.29% while underlying markets were up 5.06%.</li> <li>Among developed mandates, European hedge funds were up 0.73%, followed by North American peers with 0.48%. On the other hand, Japanese counterparts retracted 0.74% for the month. On a year-to-date basis, European managers reported 2.12% gains followed by North American and Japanese managers who posted returns of 2.10% and 1.15% respectively.</li> <li>Distressed debt hedge fund managers posted the steepest decline this month, down 1.21% followed by CTA/managed futures and macro mandated hedge funds which retracted 0.77% and 0.18% respectively over the same period.</li> <li>Emerging market mandates were up a modest 0.60% for the month with strength led by underlying Asia ex-Japan mandates. Frontier markets, as represented by the <a href="http://www.eurekahedge.com/Link?id=8087&amp;mode=c&amp;e=gtariq@valuewalk.com"><em>Eurekahedge Frontier Markets Hedge Fund Index</em></a> is up 1.50% for the month.</li> <li>The <em><a href="http://www.eurekahedge.com/Link?id=8100&amp;mode=c&amp;e=gtariq@valuewalk.com">Eurekahedge Long Short Equities Hedge Fund Index</a></em> gained 1.07% during the month with strength led by underlying equity long-bias hedge funds which gained 1.51% over the same period. Long/short equities managers outshone other strategic mandates to post the best Q1 2017 returns, with gains of 3.87%.</li> <li>Asia ex-Japan mandated hedge funds outshone regional peers, gaining 1.57% during the month. Underlying Greater China and India hedge fund managers up 1.82% and 4.36% over the same period respectively. On a year-to-date basis, Greater China and India mandated hedge funds posted impressive gains, up 6.87% and 11.27% respectively.</li> <li>Among volatility-focused hedge funds, short volatility hedge funds topped the table for March, gaining 1.43% while long-volatility hedge funds posted the steepest decline, down 2.02%. On a year-to-date basis, short volatility hedge funds gained 3.38% while tail risk hedge funds were down 4.74%.</li> </ul> <table width="100%"> <thead> <tr> <td width="410">Main Indices</td> <td>Mar 2017<a href="https://outlook.live.com/owa/?path=/mail/inbox/rp#x_m_6334885425961003352__ftn3" rel="nofollow"><sup>1</sup></a></td> <td>Last 3 Months</td> <td>2017 Returns</td> <td>2016 Returns</td> <td>Annualised Returns</td> <td>Constituents</td> <td>Weighting</td> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr> <td width="410">Eurekahedge Hedge Fund Index</td> <td>0.34</td> <td>2.29</td> <td>2.29</td> <td>4.49</td> <td>8.89%</td> <td>2,791</td> <td>Equal</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="410">Eurekahedge 50</td> <td>0.47</td> <td>2.49</td> <td>2.49</td> <td>4.27</td> <td>5.57%</td> <td>50</td> <td>Equal</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Eurekahedge North American Hedge Fund Index</td> <td>0.48</td> <td>2.10</td> <td>2.10</td> <td>7.90</td> <td>9.61%</td> <td>633</td> <td>Equal</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="410">Eurekahedge European Hedge Fund Index</td> <td>0.73</td> <td>2.12</td> <td>2.12</td> <td>0.17</td> <td>7.23%</td> <td>307</td> <td>Equal</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="410">Index of the Month</td> <td>Mar 2017<a href="https://outlook.live.com/owa/?path=/mail/inbox/rp#x_m_6334885425961003352__ftn3" rel="nofollow"><sup>1</sup></a></td> <td>Last 3 Months</td> <td>2017 Returns</td> <td>2016 Returns</td> <td>Annualised Returns</td> <td>Constituents</td> <td>Weighting</td> </tr> <tr> <td>CBOE Short Volatility Hedge Fund Index</td> <td>1.43</td> <td>3.38</td> <td>3.38</td> <td>5.09</td> <td>8.88%</td> <td>16</td> <td>Equal</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <p><strong>Main Indices</strong></p> <table width="100%"> <thead> <tr> <td width="410">Eurekahedge Main Indices</td> <td>Mar 2017<a href="https://outlook.live.com/owa/?path=/mail/inbox/rp#x_m_6334885425961003352__ftn3" rel="nofollow"><sup>1</sup></a></td> <td>2017 Returns</td> <td>2016 Returns</td> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr> <td width="410">Eurekahedge Hedge Fund Index</td> <td>0.34</td> <td>2.29</td> <td>4.49</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="410">Eurekahedge Fund of Funds Index</td> <td>0.38</td> <td>2.04</td> <td>-0.14</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Eurekahedge Long-only Absolute Return Fund Index</td> <td>1.60</td> <td>6.44</td> <td>7.68</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="410">Eurekahedge Islamic Fund Index</td> <td>1.20</td> <td>3.13</td> <td>4.44</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <p><strong>Regional Indices</strong></p> <p>Among regional mandates, Asia ex-Japan mandated hedge funds posted the best gains for the month, up 1.57% followed by European managers who were up 0.73% over the same period. Among strategic mandates, long/short equities hedge funds gained 1.07% followed by event driven hedge funds with 0.54% over the same period. Distressed debt hedge funds posted the steepest decline, down 1.21% for the month.</p> <p>Latin American managers outshone regional peers in Q1 2017, with gains of 5.67% as Asia ex-Japan managers followed a close second at 5.27%. In terms of strategic mandates, long/short equities hedge fund managers posted the best Q1 2017, gaining 3.84% followed by event driven managers with a 3.72% increase.</p> <p>Performance across regional indices was a mixed bag this month, with Asia ex-Japan hedge funds posting the best gains, up 1.57% with performance propped up by underlying Indian hedge fund managers who saw gains of 4.36% during March. Despite lacklustre equity market performance in Greater China, hedge fund managers who run a dedicated Greater China mandate also contributed to the strength in Asia ex-Japan managers with gains of 1.82% for the month. European hedge funds followed with gains of 0.73% backed by fair strength in the region’s equity markets and expectations over a hawkish ECB monetary policy stance over the coming months thanks to positive headline inflation in the Eurozone. North American hedge fund managers were also up for the month, gaining 0.48% largely outperforming the region’s equity markets. Strength in North American equity markets was led by the NASDAQ for the month, which gained 1.48% while other indices underperformed.</p> <p>On the other hand, Japan and Latin American equity markets fell into negative territory this month, with losses of 0.74% and 0.33% respectively as equity markets lacked clear direction somewhere mid-month. While the Fed raised interest rates in line with expectations, investors were disappointed when the expectations of a speed up in tightening (more than three rate hikes) were not matched by the Fed’s outlook. Coupled with the unsuccessful healthcare reform and the sentiments on the ability of the administration to deliver campaign promises, the USD retreated during the month with the DXY index down 0.76%. The corresponding strength in the Yen led to selling of Japanese stocks mid-month with the Nikkei 225 Index down 1.10% for the month. Latin American managers were also down, declining 0.33% for the month with the IBOVESPA index declining 2.52% for the month surrounding concerns over a slowing growth rate, and expectations over commodity prices against the backdrop of weakening oil prices.</p> <p>On a year-to-date basis, Latin American hedge funds managers posted the best gains, up 5.67% followed by Asia ex-Japan hedge funds with 5.27%. European and North American hedge funds were up 2.12% and 2.10% respectively followed by Japan mandated hedge funds with gains of 1.15% over the same year-to-date period.</p> <table width="100%"> <thead> <tr> <td width="410">Eurekahedge Regional Indices</td> <td>Mar 2017<a href="https://outlook.live.com/owa/?path=/mail/inbox/rp#x_m_6334885425961003352__ftn3" rel="nofollow"><sup>1</sup></a></td> <td>2017 Returns</td> <td>2016 Returns</td> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr> <td width="410">Eurekahedge North American Hedge Fund Index</td> <td>0.48</td> <td>2.10</td> <td>7.90</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="410">Eurekahedge European Hedge Fund Index</td> <td>0.73</td> <td>2.12</td> <td>0.17</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Eurekahedge Eastern Europe &amp; Russia Hedge Fund Index</td> <td>0.00</td> <td>2.95</td> <td>22.27</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Eurekahedge Japan Hedge Fund Index</td> <td>-0.74</td> <td>1.15</td> <td>0.53</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Eurekahedge Emerging Markets Hedge Fund Index</td> <td>0.60</td> <td>4.92</td> <td>7.29</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Eurekahedge Asia ex Japan Hedge Fund Index</td> <td>1.57</td> <td>5.27</td> <td>-0.53</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="410">Eurekahedge Latin American Hedge Fund Index</td> <td>-0.33</td> <td>5.67</td> <td>18.77</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <p><strong>Strategy Indices</strong></p> <p>Performance across strategic mandates were a mixed bag this month with distressed debt hedge fund managers posting the steepest decline, down 1.21%, underperforming the US high yield market which declined 0.21% during the month. This could be a result of potential improvements in yield prospects of competing asset classes, and the drawback in oil prices which could sabotage the recovery of underlying company assets in the medium-term.</p> <p>CTA/managed future and macro mandated hedge funds followed behind with declines of 0.77% and 0.18% respectively over the same period. The weakness was led by underlying CTA sub-strategies with commodity-focused and trend-following hedge funds declining 1.60% and 1.57% respectively. Long positions in energy proved to be detrimental for managers as crude oil prices resumed a downtrend on the back of rising inventories and a less successful adherence of OPEC members to production cuts. In base metals, copper prices have eased during the month as concern over the Chilean mining protests appears to have panned out, resulting in losses over long positions in copper for the month. FX-focused hedge funds were up a modest 0.57% despite considerable weakness in the USD against major currencies which proved to be performance detractors for some managers. On the other hand, expectations on ECB tightening led to gains on managers bullish on the Euro this month.</p> <p>On the other hand, long/short equities hedge fund managers posted the best gains this month, up 1.07% even though global equity market performance was mixed at best. Underlying long-bias managers led much of the strength gaining 1.51% while short-bias managers declined 0.51%. Strength in equity market performance was led by European markets with mixed to flat performance across Asian equity markets. However, with the unfolding of European politics in the coming months, we are yet to see if equity market performance on the back of improving economic outlook is sustainable. Over in Asia, concerns over Chinese debt woes and the government’s commitment to risk management and currency stability in the Chinese economy also plays an integral part in investors’ outlook of Asia over the coming months. Event driven and fixed income hedge funds follow next with gains of 0.54% and 0.41% respectively. Arbitrage and multi-strategy hedge funds were also in positive territory this month, gaining 0.35% and 0.33% respectively. Relative value hedge funds were up a marginal 0.05% for the month, with mixed performance among its underlying volatility strategies. Short volatility hedge fund managers led much of the strength this month, gaining 1.43%, however, this was offset by losses made by long volatility and tail-risk volatility managers who were down 2.02% and 1.40% respectively while relative value volatility hedge funds were up 0.64% for the month.</p> <p>On a year-to-date basis, long/short equities hedge fund managers were up 3.84% followed by multi-strategy managers which gained 3.28%. Fixed income managers saw gains of 2.26% followed by distressed debt managers which were up 2.02% respectively. CTA/managed futures hedge fund managers however, were down 0.65% – the only strategic mandate to post year-to-date decline with considerable weakness led by underlying trend-following managers over the course of the first quarter.</p> <p>Looking at the full list of <em>Eurekahedge Strategy Indices </em>in Table 1 below, equity long-bias and long/short equity managers feature strongly on a 2017 year-to-date basis, with gains of 5.58% and 3.84% respectively while at the other end of the spectrum, tail risk volatility and equity short-bias managers posted the steepest year-to-date losses, down 4.74% and 4.81% respectively.</p> <p><a href="http://www.valuewalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Hedge-funds.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-1934347" src="http://www.valuewalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Hedge-funds-735x1024.jpg" sizes="(max-width: 735px) 100vw, 735px" srcset="http://www.valuewalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Hedge-funds-735x1024.jpg 735w, http://www.valuewalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Hedge-funds-215x300.jpg 215w, http://www.valuewalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Hedge-funds-768x1070.jpg 768w, http://www.valuewalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Hedge-funds-39x55.jpg 39w, http://www.valuewalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Hedge-funds-323x450.jpg 323w, http://www.valuewalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Hedge-funds-287x400.jpg 287w, http://www.valuewalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Hedge-funds.jpg 1120w" alt="Hedge funds" width="735" height="1024" /></a></p> <h5>Hedge Funds</h5> <p><strong>Table 1: Index Flash Strategy Return Map</strong></p> <table width="100%"> <thead> <tr> <td width="410">Eurekahedge Strategy Indices</td> <td>Mar 2017<a href="https://outlook.live.com/owa/?path=/mail/inbox/rp#x_m_6334885425961003352__ftn3" rel="nofollow"><sup>1</sup></a></td> <td>2017 Returns</td> <td>2016 Returns</td> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr> <td width="410">Eurekahedge Arbitrage Hedge Fund Index</td> <td>0.35</td> <td>1.20</td> <td>4.65</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="410">Eurekahedge CTA/Managed Futures Hedge Fund Index</td> <td>-0.77</td> <td>-0.65</td> <td>1.47</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Eurekahedge Distressed Debt Hedge Fund Index</td> <td>-1.21</td> <td>2.02</td> <td>13.30</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Eurekahedge Event Driven Hedge Fund Index</td> <td>0.54</td> <td>3.72</td> <td>10.10</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Eurekahedge Fixed Income Hedge Fund Index</td> <td>0.41</td> <td>2.26</td> <td>6.53</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Eurekahedge Long Short Equities Hedge Fund Index</td> <td>1.07</td> <td>3.84</td> <td>3.92</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Eurekahedge Macro Hedge Fund Index</td> <td>-0.18</td> <td>0.71</td> <td>3.44</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Eurekahedge Multi-Strategy Hedge Fund Index</td> <td>0.33</td> <td>3.28</td> <td>4.80</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="410">Eurekahedge Relative Value Hedge Fund Index</td> <td>0.05</td> <td>1.81</td> <td>7.35</td> </tr> <tr> <td>CBOE Eurekahedge Long Volatility Hedge Fund Index</td> <td>-2.02</td> <td>-4.27</td> <td>-2.82</td> </tr> <tr> <td>CBOE Eurekahedge Relative Value Volatility Hedge Fund Index</td> <td>0.64</td> <td>1.30</td> <td>7.44</td> </tr> <tr> <td>CBOE Eurekahedge Short Volatility Hedge Fund Index</td> <td>1.43</td> <td>3.38</td> <td>5.09</td> </tr> <tr> <td>CBOE Eurekahedge Tail Risk Hedge Fund Index</td> <td>-1.40</td> <td>-4.74</td> <td>-11.81</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Eurekahedge Equity Long Bias Hedge Fund Index</td> <td>1.51</td> <td>5.58</td> <td>5.35</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Eurekahedge Equity Market Neutral Hedge Fund Index</td> <td>-0.02</td> <td>0.63</td> <td>-0.53</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Eurekahedge Equity Short Bias Hedge Fund Index</td> <td>-0.51</td> <td>-4.81</td> <td>-7.35</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Eurekahedge Trend Following Index</td> <td>-1.56</td> <td>-0.88</td> <td>-1.01</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Eurekahedge FX Hedge Fund Index</td> <td>0.57</td> <td>0.44</td> <td>0.50</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Eurekahedge Commodity Hedge Fund Index</td> <td>-1.60</td> <td>-0.03</td> <td>7.00</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <p>&nbsp;</p> <table width="100%"> <thead> <tr> <td width="410">Eurekahedge Global Hedge Fund Indices by Fund Size</td> <td>Mar 2017<a href="https://outlook.live.com/owa/?path=/mail/inbox/rp#x_m_6334885425961003352__ftn3" rel="nofollow"><sup>1</sup></a></td> <td>2017 Returns</td> <td>2016 Returns</td> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr> <td width="410">Eurekahedge Small Hedge Fund Index (&lt; US$100m)</td> <td>0.30</td> <td>2.32</td> <td>4.80</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="410">Eurekahedge Medium Hedge Fund Index (US$100m – US$500m)</td> <td>0.17</td> <td>2.02</td> <td>4.28</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Eurekahedge Large Hedge Fund Index (&gt; US$500m)</td> <td>0.69</td> <td>2.20</td> <td>2.66</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Eurekahedge Billion Dollar Hedge Fund Index</td> <td>-0.05</td> <td>1.49</td> <td>2.40</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <p>&nbsp;</p> <table width="100%"> <thead> <tr> <td width="410">Mizuho-Eurekahedge Indices</td> <td>Mar 2017<a href="https://outlook.live.com/owa/?path=/mail/inbox/rp#x_m_6334885425961003352__ftn3" rel="nofollow"><sup>1</sup></a></td> <td>2017 Returns</td> <td>2016 Returns</td> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr> <td width="410">Mizuho-Eurekahedge Index – USD</td> <td>0.15</td> <td>1.77</td> <td>0.72</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="410">Mizuho-Eurekahedge TOP 100 Index – USD</td> <td>-0.05</td> <td>1.13</td> <td>0.25</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Mizuho-Eurekahedge TOP 300 Index – USD</td> <td>0.12</td> <td>1.48</td> <td>0.24</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <p>&nbsp;</p> <table width="100%"> <thead> <tr> <td width="410">Asia-Eurekahedge Indices</td> <td>Mar 2017<a href="https://outlook.live.com/owa/?path=/mail/inbox/rp#x_m_6334885425961003352__ftn3" rel="nofollow"><sup>1</sup></a></td> <td>2017 Returns</td> <td>2016 Returns</td> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr> <td width="410">Eurekahedge Greater China Hedge Fund Index</td> <td>1.82</td> <td>6.87</td> <td>-4.64</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Eurekahedge India Hedge Fund Index</td> <td>4.36</td> <td>11.27</td> <td>3.19</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <hr /> <p><a href="https://outlook.live.com/owa/?path=/mail/inbox/rp#x_m_6334885425961003352__ftnref1" rel="nofollow">1</a> Based on 40.88% of funds which have reported March 2017 returns as at 11 April 2017</p> <p><em><strong>Article by <a href="http://www.eurekahedge.com/" rel="nofollow">Eurekahedge</a></strong></em></p> <p><em>This article was originally published in <a href="http://www.valuewalk.com/2017/04/hedge-funds-see-2-29-gains-for-1q-2017/?all=1">ValueWalk</a>.</em></p> <pre>Photo: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/st3f4n/2865510059/">DocChewbacca</a></pre> ",
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940title_var: "10 Shocking Passages From the Wells Fargo Report on Aggressive Sales Practices",
941description_short: "As Wells Fargo released a 113-page report Monday on a board committee’s inquiry into the company’s sales practices, the bank announced it has clawed back an additional $75 million in compensation from two top executives . Read more at MarketWatch. Photo: Ken Teegardin",
942content_text: "<p><a href="http://www.marketwatch.com/?mod=nexchange"><img class="size-medium wp-image-7204 alignleft" src="http://cdn2.nexchange.com/wp-cdn-img/wp-content/uploads/MarketWatch_Main1-300x57.png" alt="MarketWatch_Main[1]" width="300" height="57" srcset="https://wp.nexchange.com/wp-content/uploads/MarketWatch_Main1-300x57.png 300w, https://wp.nexchange.com/wp-content/uploads/MarketWatch_Main1.png 800w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a></p> <p>As Wells Fargo released a 113-page report Monday on a board committee’s inquiry into the company’s sales practices, the bank announced it has clawed back an additional $75 million in compensation from two top executives .</p> <p><em>Read more at <a href="http://www.marketwatch.com/story/10-shocking-passages-from-the-wells-fargo-report-on-aggressive-sales-practices-2017-04-10?mod=nexchange">MarketWatch</a>.</em></p> <pre>Photo: <a href="http://www.SeniorLiving.Org">Ken Teegardin</a></pre> ",
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969title_var: "Video: Four Wheels on Ice: Extreme Driving Lures Adventure Seekers",
970description_short: "In Arjeplog, Sweden, ice-driving tours allow visitors to get behind the wheel and do figure eights on a sheet of solid ice while being pampered at upscale accommodations during their downtime. Popular destination driving programs like this one are intensifying competition among luxury automakers. Photo: Chester Dawson This video was originally published in The Wall Street Journal. Photo: Eirik Solheim",
971content_text: "<p><a href="http://www.wsj.com/asia?mod=nexchange"><img class="size-medium wp-image-7202 alignleft" src="http://cdn2.nexchange.com/wp-cdn-img/wp-content/uploads/WSJ_Main1-300x77.png" alt="WSJ_Main[1]" width="300" height="77" srcset="https://wp.nexchange.com/wp-content/uploads/WSJ_Main1-300x77.png 300w, https://wp.nexchange.com/wp-content/uploads/WSJ_Main1.png 800w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a></p> <p><div class="video-container"><iframe src="https://video-api.wsj.com/api-video/player/iframe.html?guid=A4B74FB3-4646-4440-9669-609230D304FD" width="512" height="288" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></div></p> <p>In Arjeplog, Sweden, ice-driving tours allow visitors to get behind the wheel and do figure eights on a sheet of solid ice while being pampered at upscale accommodations during their downtime. Popular destination driving programs like this one are intensifying competition among luxury automakers. Photo: Chester Dawson</p> <p><em>This video was originally published in <a href="http://www.wsj.com/video/four-wheels-on-ice-extreme-driving-lures-adventure-seekers/A4B74FB3-4646-4440-9669-609230D304FD.html?mod=nexchange">The Wall Street Journal</a>.</em></p> <pre>Photo: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/eirikso/2248763778/">Eirik Solheim</a></pre> ",
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998title_var: "Blockballed: The State of Not Understanding Blockchain and Fintech's Importance to Finance",
999description_short: "Being blackballed is bad; being blockballed is worse. Finance execs who think blockchain and fintech are for the techies are going to get blindsided. Mark Cheng of Mind Fund Group sounded the alarm, telling the Internet Economy Summit audience in Hong Kong - including many bankers  - if you don’t take care of your customers, someone else will. And you ",
1000content_text: "<h4><em>Being blackballed is bad; being blockballed is worse. Finance execs who think blockchain and fintech are for the techies are going to get blindsided.</em></h4> <p>Mark Cheng of <a href="http://mindfund.com/">Mind Fund Group</a> sounded the alarm, telling the <a href="https://www.ieconomysummit.hk/forum-1/">Internet Economy Summit</a> audience in Hong Kong &#8211; including many bankers  &#8211; if you don’t take care of your customers, someone else will. And you won’t like it when they are up in your systems.</p> <p>Financial aggregators are well known in the US where major banks are fighting them off, while in Asia the concept seems unknown. Giving you banking and finance passwords to a fintech service that provides all the services you wish you bank did &#8211; but doesn’t &#8211; allows you to finally make good use of the financial data your bank hoards. But banks are keen to remind you that what is done with that  account is your responsibility &#8211; including fraud, money laundering and anything else someone might do with your account. Consumers that bristle at government data collection are perfectly happy to give away access for convenience. If banks are lazy about keeping up with fintech, the price they will pay is financial aggregators in their systems, enabled by their customers.</p> <p><b>Don’t get blockballed</b></p> <figure id="attachment_55155" style="width: 800px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img class="wp-image-55155" src="http://cdn2.nexchange.com/wp-cdn-img/wp-content/uploads/unnamed1.jpg" alt="Cheng Li, Chief Technology Officer of Ant Financial Services Group" width="800" height="533" /><figcaption class="wp-caption-text">Cheng Li, Chief Technology Officer of Ant Financial Services Group</figcaption></figure> <p>Many execs do have their eye on the future, however. The Summit saw Ant Financial CTO Cheng Li articulate how his firm was using blockchain technology to power their charity-donations platform and then use that experience to increase blockchain adaptation across their system, even into protecting against fraud in the global supply chain, in partnership with their sister company Alibaba.</p> <blockquote><p>&#8220;When the data is transparent, it requires no trust &#8211; what exists is a ‘truth machine.’&#8221; <cite>Tim Grant, R3</cite></p></blockquote> <p>Tim Grant, the CEO of R3’s Lab and Research Centre, outlined how their consortium of major financial institutes and even central banks was growing as they sought to understand, develop and deploy distributed ledger technology. He has no interest in building what The Economist called a “Trust Machine”, in their <a href="http://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21677198-technology-behind-bitcoin-could-transform-how-economy-works-trust-machine">famous blockchain cover story</a>. When the data is transparent, it requires no trust &#8211; what exists is a ‘truth machine’.</p> <figure id="attachment_55154" style="width: 800px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img class="wp-image-55154" src="http://cdn2.nexchange.com/wp-cdn-img/wp-content/uploads/unnamed-3.jpg" alt="Tim Grant, Chief Executive Officer of R3 Lab and Research Center" width="800" height="533" /><figcaption class="wp-caption-text">Tim Grant, Chief Executive Officer of R3 Lab and Research Center</figcaption></figure> <p>However, not total truth &#8211; or rather, not total transparency. In working with large institutions, concessions must be made to answer their concerns. Privacy means that there must be some control on who can see what, and R3’s recently launched Corda solutions allows more control over that privacy. Also, they are leaning heavily towards using Java for the simple reason that the banks are comfortable with it. A great many banks have joined the consortium, gaining access to the most advanced research and datasets in the world. Those not on board risk falling behind, becoming blockballed in the process.</p> <p><b>Keeping up with the future</b></p> <blockquote><p>&#8220;if phones can roam, why can’t the payment systems embedded in them?&#8221;</p></blockquote> <p>Two panels for innovators and finance professionals outlined their thoughts on the future.  Juwan Lee, CEO of NexChange, uncovered some inconvenient truth about fintech in Hong Kong. Alex Kong of TNG Wallet was disappointed that banks in Hong Kong wouldn’t play ball with his solution even as retailers and consumers were taking it up with gusto in Hong Kong and across South East Asia. Other countries were more cooperative with the new firm that is aiming to work with other payment providers to enable global payment roaming. He reasons that if phones can roam, why can’t the payment systems embedded in them?</p> <figure id="attachment_55157" style="width: 800px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img class="wp-image-55157" src="http://cdn2.nexchange.com/wp-cdn-img/wp-content/uploads/unnamed3.jpg" alt="Panel with representatives from the HKMA, Citibank Hong Kong, DBS Bank, China Construction Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, and HSBC." width="800" height="533" /><figcaption class="wp-caption-text">Panel with representatives from the HKMA, Citibank Hong Kong, DBS Bank, China Construction Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, and HSBC.</figcaption></figure> <p>The bankers had their chance in a later panel moderated by Cyberport’s Dr. Toa Charm (Chief Public Mission Officer). The flavour of the day was payments as most lauded the work of their teams in advancing new payment options for consumers. Priscilla Ng of Citibank Hong Kong took the opportunity to talk about the <a href="https://www.citibank.com.hk/english/banking/hk-fintech-challenge2017.html">Citi HK Fintech Challenge</a> &#8211; a chance for fintech firms to plug into 30 powerful APIs developed by Citi and possibly take on Citi as a major client. Fintech startups can choose to address one (or more) of six pain points Cit has identified</p> <p>So at least one major firm is finding a way to work with fintech startups in a collaborative manner that ensures that they, for one, won’t get blockballed.</p> ",
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1027title_var: "CME Group Is Launching a Gold-Trading Platform Inspired by Bitcoin",
1028description_short: "Pretty soon, pension funds and other institutional traders will be able to buy and sell gold using a trading platform inspired by the digital currency bitcoin. Read more at MarketWatch. Photo: BTC Keychain",
1029content_text: "<p><a href="http://www.marketwatch.com/?mod=nexchange"><img class="size-medium wp-image-7204 alignleft" src="http://cdn2.nexchange.com/wp-cdn-img/wp-content/uploads/MarketWatch_Main1-300x57.png" alt="MarketWatch_Main[1]" width="300" height="57" srcset="https://wp.nexchange.com/wp-content/uploads/MarketWatch_Main1-300x57.png 300w, https://wp.nexchange.com/wp-content/uploads/MarketWatch_Main1.png 800w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a></p> <p>Pretty soon, pension funds and other institutional traders will be able to buy and sell gold using a trading platform inspired by the digital currency bitcoin.</p> <p><em>Read more at <a href="http://www.marketwatch.com/story/cme-group-is-launching-a-gold-trading-platform-inspired-by-bitcoin-2017-04-11?mod=nexchange">MarketWatch</a>.</em></p> <pre>Photo: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/btckeychain/9714198380/">BTC Keychain</a></pre> ",
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1056title_var: "HKMA Ticks off, Fines Coutts for AML Failings",
1057description_short: "HKMA (the Hong Kong Monetary Authority) reprimanded Coutts &amp; Co and fined the firm HKD7 million (USD900,000) for AML (anti-money laundering) failures. In a statement, HKMA said the private bank breached five provisions of Hong Kong’s Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing (Financial Institutions) Ordinance. Specifically, between April 2012 and June 2015, Coutts failed to have procedures in place to determine ",
1058content_text: "<p>HKMA (the Hong Kong Monetary Authority) reprimanded Coutts &amp; Co and fined the firm HKD7 million (USD900,000) for AML (anti-money laundering) failures.</p> <p>In a <a title="statement" href="http://www.hkma.gov.hk/eng/key-information/press-releases/2017/20170411-4.shtml">statement</a>, HKMA said the private bank breached five provisions of Hong Kong’s Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing (Financial Institutions) Ordinance.</p> <p>Specifically, between April 2012 and June 2015, Coutts failed to have procedures in place to determine “whether its customers or the beneficial owners of its customers were politically exposed persons (PEPs).”</p> <p>Among other issues, it also “failed to identify PEPs despite relevant information being publicly available and to follow up promptly on PEP alerts received from a commercially available database to which Coutts Hong Kong subscribed.”</p> <p>HKMA did not say which PEPs Coutts dealt with. The private bank’s now-defunct Singapore unit was earlier this year fined more than USD6 million by Switzerland’s Financial Markets Supervisory Authority for AML failures pertaining to accounts held by a businessman associated with Malaysia’s 1MDB fund.</p> <p>“Coutts, through its branch in Singapore, was the first Swiss bank to accept assets from these individuals. When the Coutts employees moved to another bank in Singapore in 2009, some of the business relationships were transferred to Coutts Zurich. In total, 1MDB-related assets to the value of USD2.4 billion were transferred through Coutts accounts in Switzerland,” the Swiss regulator said at the time.</p> <p><em>This article was originally published in <a href="http://www.regulationasia.com/content/hkma-ticks-fines-coutts-aml-failings">Regulation Asia</a>.</em></p> <pre>Photo: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/volvob12b/9047986894/">Public Domain</a></pre> ",
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1085title_var: "Crouching Donald, Paper Tiger",
1086description_short: "BERKELEY – Donald Trump’s comments about China during the US presidential campaign didn’t exactly bolster high hopes for Sino-American relations once he was elected. Trump denounced China for “taking our jobs,” and “[stealing] hundreds of billions of dollars in our intellectual property.” He repeatedly accused China of manipulating its currency. The low point came last May, when Trump warned his ",
1087content_text: "<p><a href="https://www.advisorperspectives.com/"><img class="size-medium wp-image-14866 alignleft" src="http://cdn2.nexchange.com/wp-cdn-img/wp-content/uploads/AD_Pers_LOGO21-300x54.gif" alt="AD_Pers_LOGO2" width="300" height="54" /></a></p> <p data-line-id="ca2696792cac4f9abb71c47703685430">BERKELEY – Donald Trump’s comments about China during the US presidential campaign didn’t exactly bolster high hopes for Sino-American relations once he was elected. Trump denounced China for “taking our jobs,” and “[stealing] hundreds of billions of dollars in our intellectual property.” He repeatedly accused China of manipulating its currency. The low point came last May, when Trump warned his followers that, “We can’t continue to allow China to rape our country. That’s what they’re doing. It’s the greatest theft in the history of the world.”</p> <p data-line-id="be8702a3d8cc469a8618248e0e0a18b5">Given such inflammatory rhetoric, many people understandably felt considerable trepidation in the run-up to Trump’s summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate. It wasn’t hard to imagine a refused handshake or the presentation of a bill for payment, like the one Trump reportedly gave visiting German Chancellor Angela Merkel (a report denied by the White House).</p> <p data-line-id="04868d697520408e8b0a77b3b18c8c16">Instead, Trump treated Xi with considerable deference. One explanation is that he was preoccupied by the impending US missile strike on Syria. Another is that it is easier to command Trump’s respect when you have an aircraft carrier, 3,000 military planes, and 1.6 million ground troops.</p> <p class="p2">Click <a href="https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/trump-deference-xi-florida-summit-by-barry-eichengreen-2017-04" target="_blank"><span class="s1">here</span></a> to read more</p> <p class="p3"><span class="s2">© <a href="http://www.project-syndicate.org/" target="_blank"><span class="s1">Project Syndicate</span></a></span></p> <p class="p3"><em>This article was originally published in <a href="https://www.advisorperspectives.com/commentaries/2017/04/10/crouching-donald-paper-tiger">Advisor Perspectives</a>.</em></p> <pre class="p3">Photo: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/gageskidmore/23691565882/">Gage Skidmore</a></pre> ",
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1114title_var: "NYC Mayor to Sculptor of Iconic Charging Bull: 'Fearless Girl' Proves its Point",
1115description_short: "The sculptor of the iconic "Charging Bull" statue that sits in front of the New York Stock Exchange is accusing the city of infringing on his "artistic copyright" when it allowed the "Fearless Girl" statue to be erected across from the bull, "changing the creative dynamic to include the other bold presence," as NBC New York reports. The Italian-born sculptor Arturo Di ",
1116content_text: "<p>The sculptor of the iconic &#8220;Charging Bull&#8221; statue that sits in front of the New York Stock Exchange is accusing the city of infringing on his &#8220;artistic copyright&#8221; when it allowed the &#8220;Fearless Girl&#8221; statue to be erected across from the bull, &#8220;changing the creative dynamic to include the other bold presence,&#8221; as <a href="http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/NYC-Charging-Bull-Sculptor-Arturo-Di-Modica-Doesnt-Like-Fearless-Girl-Statue-419212814.html">NBC New York</a> reports.</p> <p>The Italian-born sculptor Arturo Di Modica says the city violated his legal rights when it allowed artist Kristen Visbal to erect the &#8220;Fearless Girl&#8221; statue without his permission, according to NBC New York. Visbal&#8217;s statue went up on March 7 to commemorate International Women&#8217;s Day.</p> <p>New York City Mayor Bill DeBlasio was not exactly sympathetic to Di Modica&#8217;s complaints, saying on Twitter that the artist&#8217;s response proves the point of the &#8220;Fearless Girl&#8221; statue.</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Men who don’t like women taking up space are exactly why we need the Fearless Girl. <a href="https://t.co/D2OZl4ituJ">https://t.co/D2OZl4ituJ</a></p> <p>&mdash; Bill de Blasio (@NYCMayor) <a href="https://twitter.com/NYCMayor/status/852154909235564544">April 12, 2017</a></p></blockquote> <p><script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p> <p>Di Modica, however, calls &#8220;Fearless Girl&#8221; an &#8220;advertising trick,&#8221; according to NBC New York, noting that State Street Global Advisors and McCann, it&#8217;s New York advertising firm, are the financial backers of the artwork. To be fair, although the statue was erected to celebrate International Women&#8217;s Day, the Wall Street element <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/16/nyregion/fearless-girl-statue-manhattan.html">did not sit well</a> with some feminists who probably agree with Di Modica&#8217;s criticism of it being a marketing ploy.</p> <p>Di Modica &#8220;installed the massive bronze in front of the New York Stock Exchange after the 1987 stock market crash, without a permit in the middle of the night — as a symbol of America&#8217;s financial resilience,&#8221; NBC New York reports. &#8220;The city eventually responded to the public clamoring for the artwork to be allowed to remain in the Financial District, steps from Wall Street.&#8221;</p> <p>Visbal&#8217;s permit for &#8220;Fearless Girl&#8221; expires in February.</p> <pre>Photo: Getty iStock</pre> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> ",
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1143title_var: "United Investors Aren't Pleased; Stock Falls as China Fumes Over Booted Passenger",
1144description_short: "The man who wouldn’t leave the plane just won’t go away. Shares of United Continental Holdings Inc (NYSE: UAL) were down more than 4 percent in early trading on Tuesday as outrage spread over the violent removal of a man identified as David Dao, a doctor, from a United jet preparing to depart Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport Sunday. Video of ",
1145content_text: "<p><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-15531" src="http://cdn2.nexchange.com/wp-cdn-img/wp-content/uploads/rsz_benzinga_main-300x169.png" alt="rsz_benzinga_main" width="300" height="169" srcset="https://wp.nexchange.com/wp-content/uploads/rsz_benzinga_main-300x169.png 300w, https://wp.nexchange.com/wp-content/uploads/rsz_benzinga_main.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></p> <p>The man who wouldn’t leave the plane just won’t go away.</p> <p>Shares of <strong>United Continental Holdings Inc</strong> (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/ual#NYSE">UAL</a>) were down more than 4 percent in early trading on Tuesday as outrage spread over the violent removal of a man identified as David Dao, a doctor, from a United jet preparing to depart Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport Sunday.</p> <p>Video of the man, his face bloodied, screaming as he was dragged off the overbooked flight went viral in China, where it received hundreds of millions of views and triggered calls for a <a href="http://shanghaiist.com/2017/04/11/united_against_united.php">boycott</a> of United Airlines, the <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/12f87b1a-89d8-3e1d-8262-0a879dd1d625">top U.S. carrier to China</a>.</p> <p><a href="https://www.benzinga.com/news/17/04/9288097/united-investors-arent-pleased-stock-falls-as-china-fumes-over-booted-passenger">Read more at Benzinga</a>.</p> <pre>Photo: United Airlines</pre> ",
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1172title_var: "Please Stop Trying to 'Empower' Women With Cutesy Titles",
1173description_short: "If you’ve been reading about recent troubles at Thinx or last year’s shakeup at Nasty Gal, you’ve likely seen reference to a new job title: the “SHE-EO.” How is a SHE-EO different than a CEO, you might wonder? Does she have a specially bedazzled pink office filled with scented candles? Is she super in touch with her emotions? Or maybe ",
1174content_text: "<p><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-25488" src="http://cdn2.nexchange.com/wp-cdn-img/wp-content/uploads/FastCompany_16_9-300x169.png" alt="FastCompany_16_9" width="300" height="169" srcset="https://wp.nexchange.com/wp-content/uploads/FastCompany_16_9-300x169.png 300w, https://wp.nexchange.com/wp-content/uploads/FastCompany_16_9.png 351w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></p> <div> <p>If you’ve been reading about <a href="https://www.fastcompany.com/3069057/thinxs-pr-nightmare-is-a-harsh-reminder-of-why-hr-still-matters">recent troubles at Thinx</a> or <a href="https://www.fastcompany.com/3047692/what-managers-can-learn-from-nasty-gals-pregnancy-discrimination-lawsuit">last year’s shakeup at Nasty Gal</a>, you’ve likely seen reference to a new job title: the “SHE-EO.” How is a SHE-EO different than a CEO, you might wonder? Does she have a specially bedazzled pink office filled with scented candles? Is she super in touch with her emotions? <a href="https://www.fastcompany.com/3032208/hit-the-ground-running/4-speech-habits-that-are-undermining-your-job-chances">Or maybe her speech is riddled with vocal fry and up-speak?</a> Nope, turns out a SHE-EO is actually exactly the same as a CEO, except the person holding the job just happens to be—wait for it—a woman.</p> </div> <div> <p>Similarly, a “girlboss” is not in fact a small child who has been put in charge of a tea party, but an adult professional who hires and manages other adults. (The term was popularized by Sophia Amoruso who wrote a best-selling book and produced a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=saL9OVnSv0g">Netflix series of the same name</a>).</p> <p>And in case you were wondering, a “momtrepreneur,” also is just an entrepreneur who happens to be a mother. Her business may or may not have to do with parenting or children but you’ll be hard-pressed to find her “dadtrepreneur” counterpart; likely because being a man means he doesn’t need a qualifier on his job title. He can just manage, lead, or create and let his work speak for itself.</p> <p>Yes, many of these terms have been created by women and are used with the best of intentions, but they are doing women and the cause of equality more harm than good. Here’s why.</p> <div> <p>We rarely use this kind of special (and sometimes infantilizing) language for other under-represented groups, and in many cases to do so would feel like a slur. By calling out that a manager or CEO or entrepreneur happens to be a woman is to qualify that person’s accomplishments as “less than.” In that version of the world there are regular bosses and then there is a lower subset of “lady bosses.”</p> <p>It’s equivalent to saying that Shonda Rhimes is successful for a <em>woman</em> show-runner or that Serena Williams is talented for a <em>female</em> athlete. These women don’t need their gender to qualify their success any more than a middle-manager needs her gender used as a preface to how she led a meeting.</p> <p>No doubt Amoruso herself was being slightly tongue-in-cheek when she coined the term “girlboss,” to reclaim the types of qualifiers that often get attached to women. But that’s not how they are often used, and it doesn’t change the fact that these terms are a misguided attempt at “empowerment” at best and a way to downplay women’s accomplishments at worst.</p> <p>Speaking of good intentions gone wrong, the whole idea that women need to be “empowered” in the first place is problematic. As a group, women are as complex as any other. We don’t need special help. What we do need are equal opportunities, not to mention workplaces and societies free of bias and expectations about the ways we lead, parent, speak, manage, dress, act, and what our interests are.</p> </div> <div> <p>Holding women CEOs to a different standard, or putting them in a separate category because of their gender, does nothing to alter the reality that women still only hold <a href="http://money.cnn.com/2015/03/24/investing/female-ceo-pipeline-leadership/">fewer than 5% of CEO positions at Fortune 500 companies</a>. Instead of giving women cutesy names, we should be addressing the underlying reason why they’re such an exception in the first place. Everyone would be better served by looking critically at the bias in hiring, funding, and promoting that keeps women’s numbers as managers, founders, and CEOs so low.</p> <p>If we stop qualifying women’s successes by virtue of their gender, we can also hold their failures to the same standards as men. If you consider Uber CEO Travis Kalanick a bad boss, <a href="https://www.fastcompany.com/3068475/this-is-what-caused-ubers-broken-company-culture">it’s likely because he reportedly helped foster a toxic company culture</a>—not because he’s a man. Commending and condemning women leaders by the same standards is the definition of true equality.</p> <pre>Photo: Getty iStock</pre> </div> </div> ",
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1201title_var: "Activist Investor Puts Pressure on Struggling Whole Foods to Make Big Changes",
1202description_short: "Activist investor Jana Partners LLC, which owns an 8.8% stake in Whole Foods, is demanding that the struggling high-end grocery chain make significant changes - including shaking up its board - in order to jump-start a turnaround in its growth, the Wall Street Journal reports. A Barclay's analyst recently noted that Whole Foods is losing a "staggering" amount of traffic - ",
1203content_text: "<p>Activist investor Jana Partners LLC, which owns an 8.8% stake in Whole Foods, is demanding that the struggling high-end grocery chain make significant changes &#8211; including shaking up its board &#8211; in order to jump-start a turnaround in its growth, the <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/activist-investor-jana-partners-takes-nearly-9-stake-in-whole-foods-1491849374"><em>Wall Street Journal</em></a> reports.</p> <p>A Barclay&#8217;s analyst <a href="http://www.nexchange.com/article/13365">recently noted</a> that Whole Foods is losing a &#8220;staggering&#8221; amount of traffic &#8211; especially to rival Kroger &#8211; and now Jana wants the Austin, Texas-based chain &#8220;to improve its technology and operations to better compete with larger rivals, shake up its board and explore how much potential bidders might be willing to pay, according to a Monday regulatory filing,&#8221; according to the <em>Journal</em>.</p> <p>Per the <em>Journal</em>:</p> <blockquote><p>Jana’s campaign is the latest quandary for Whole Foods, which has struggled to make the transition from highflying upstart with a loyal following into a large, national chain with the kind of back-office systems tracking customers and inventory that rivals use to keep costs down and sales up.</p> <p>Whole Foods’ stock has lost nearly half of its value since peaking in 2013, and as of Friday’s close had risen just 1.5% in the past 12 months, compared with a 15% gain in the S&amp;P 500. The stock jumped 10% to $34.17 on Monday. Its sales, meanwhile, have fallen over the past 18 months. Same-store sales—a key retailer metric—fell 2.5% during its fiscal year that ended in September 2016.</p></blockquote> <p>Jana has already lined up potential candidates for the board, according to the <em>Journal</em>, noting that the hedge fund has previously overseen the shake up of boards at  Bristol-Myers Squibb <span class="company-name-type">Co.</span> ,Tiffany &amp; Co. and Blackhawk Network Holdings <span class="company-name-type">Inc. The <em>Journal</em> has also reported that Neuberger Berman, which has a roughly 2.4% stake in Whole Foods, has &#8220;been privately pushing for faster change at the company&#8221; as well.</span></p> <pre>Photo: Getty iStock</pre> ",
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1230title_var: "IBM Amps Its Blockchain Creds With New Supply Chain Platform",
1231description_short: "It looks like IBM can’t help but blaze trails these days. Here’s CoinDesk on the juggernaut’s new China blockchain offering: IBM advanced its status as a blockchain leader Tuesday with the launch of a supply chain platform designed to streamline flows among buyers, sellers and financiers in the pharmaceuticals space. The Yijian Blockchain Technology Application System – built in a ",
1232content_text: "<p>It looks like IBM can’t help but blaze trails these days. Here’s <a href="http://www.coindesk.com/ibm-amps-china-blockchain-new-supply-chain/">CoinDesk on the juggernaut’s new China blockchain offering</a>:</p> <blockquote><p>IBM advanced its status as a blockchain leader Tuesday with the launch of a supply chain platform designed to streamline flows among buyers, sellers and financiers in the pharmaceuticals space.</p> <p>The Yijian Blockchain Technology Application System – built in a partnership between <a href="http://www.coindesk.com/tag/ibm/">IBM</a> and Hejia, a Chinese supply chain management company – seeks to eliminate some of the financing problems faced by the country&#8217;s pharmaceutical retailers. Specifically, it targets the country&#8217;s underdeveloped credit evaluation system, which it argues can make it difficult to raise short-term working capital.</p></blockquote> <p>The system is designed to slash the time small pharma retailers would get paid by tracing the drugs, encrypting trading records, and simplifying transaction authentication. As such, it also brings greater transparency into the process, a plus, as you can imagine, against potentially murky multi-party deals. Here’s what Ramesh Gopinath, vice president of Blockchain Solutions at IBM, told CoinDesk:</p> <blockquote><p>“Blockchain is perfect for the kind of flow that happens between three parties. It&#8217;s not a random thing, we see a pattern of this appearing again and again.”</p></blockquote> <p>The system will initially be tested by one pharmaceutical retailer, one hospital, and one bank. If everything goes as planned, IBM and Hejia plan to expand the system’s network, ultimately seeing use beyond China’s pharmaceutical sector.</p> <p><i>Fintech startups! Have your product adopted by a global financial player!<br /> </i></p> <p><i>Citi HK FinTech Challenge 2017 is a competition to encourage developers and FinTech companies from aorund the world to develop innovative solutions with Citi’s APIs to enhance the banking experience and solve business pain points. Through the Challenge, Citibank aims to arouse public interest on FinTech development while accelerating its use in the financial services industry and at the same time benefiting the general public by bringing more innovative solutions to the market.</i></p> <p><i>Find out more <a href="https://www.citibank.com.hk/english/banking/hk-fintech-challenge2017.html" target="_blank" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&amp;q=https://www.citibank.com.hk/english/banking/hk-fintech-challenge2017.html&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1492562809863000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHP0pfL6GltzBfYeKclmohU6DlVxg">here!</a></i></p> <pre>Photo: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/57875964@N08/26651622550/">Cory Denton</a></pre> ",
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1259title_var: "SGSS to Service Women's Microfinance Fund",
1260description_short: "Societe Generale Securities Services will provide fund services to a $120 million investment vehicle supporting female entrepreneurs in Asia. BlueOrchard Finance launched the fund to support microfinance institutions in South and South East Asia that lend to women. “The fund will be investing in a diversified portfolio, mainly in microfinance debt instruments, in ASEAN [Association of Southeast Asian Nations] countries,” ",
1261content_text: "<p>Societe Generale Securities Services will provide fund services to a $120 million investment vehicle supporting female entrepreneurs in Asia.</p> <p>BlueOrchard Finance launched the fund to support microfinance institutions in South and South East Asia that lend to women.</p> <p>“The fund will be investing in a diversified portfolio, mainly in microfinance debt instruments, in ASEAN [Association of Southeast Asian Nations] countries,” said SGSS in a statement.</p> <p>The JAPAN ASEAN Women Empowerment Fund is a Luxembourg-domiciled specialised investment fund.</p> <p>Founded in 2001 by an initiative of the United Nations, BlueOrchard Finance says it was the first commercial manager of microfinance debt instruments. The firm&#8217;s Luxembourg entity is a licensed alternative investment fund manager by the Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier, the Luxembourg regulator.</p> <p><strong>©2017 funds global asia</strong></p> <p><em>This article was originally published in <a href="http://www.fundsglobalasia.com/news/sgss-to-service-women-s-microfinance-fund">Funds Global Asia</a>.</em></p> <pre>Photo: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/83428770@N06/10263126595/">e3Learning</a></pre> ",
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1288title_var: "Terse Relations Are Impacting Chinese Corporate M&A Activity in the US",
1289description_short: "Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit with American counterpart Donald Trump at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida ended a turbulent week, with trade slated for the top of their agenda. Trump has made his feelings about trade policy known, if not clear, through stump speeches on the campaign trail and during his time in the Oval Office, frequently deploying Twitter to ",
1290content_text: "<p><a href="http://www.valuewalk.com/"><img class="size-medium wp-image-15670 alignleft" src="http://cdn2.nexchange.com/wp-cdn-img/wp-content/uploads/rsz_valuewalk_medium_logo-300x155.jpg" alt="rsz_valuewalk_medium_logo" width="300" height="155" srcset="https://wp.nexchange.com/wp-content/uploads/rsz_valuewalk_medium_logo-300x155.jpg 300w, https://wp.nexchange.com/wp-content/uploads/rsz_valuewalk_medium_logo-825x430.jpg 825w, https://wp.nexchange.com/wp-content/uploads/rsz_valuewalk_medium_logo.jpg 833w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a></p> <p>Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit with American counterpart Donald Trump at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida ended a turbulent week, with trade slated for the top of their agenda. Trump has made his feelings about trade policy known, if not clear, through stump speeches on the campaign trail and during his time in the Oval Office, frequently deploying Twitter to throw shade at China.</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">The meeting next week with China will be a very difficult one in that we can no longer have massive trade deficits&#8230;</p> <p>— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/847573220417044480">March 30, 2017</a></p></blockquote> <p><script src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" async="" charset="utf-8"></script></p> <p>Perhaps no deal has illustrated how outsized hostility can complicate the picture of Chinese corporate M&amp;A in the US better than the one announced last month between Jack Ma’s Ant Financial and MoneyGram (NASDAQ: MGI).</p> <p>In response to <a href="http://pitchbook.com/news/articles/euronet-outbids-ant-financial-with-1b-offer-for-moneygram" rel="nofollow"><strong>US rival Euronet’s competing offer</strong></a>—and, no doubt, the strongly worded letter its CEO sent to US Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin about the national security risks posed by Chinese ownership of the target—Ant Financial’s president, Doug Feagin, issued an open letter Thursday outlining a “shared vision of global financial inclusion” represented by the deal, highlighting how much it values MoneyGram’s customers, agents and partners.</p> <p>But these highly publicized spats exaggerate just how much Chinese corporate M&amp;A activity goes on in the US:</p> <p><a href="http://www.valuewalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Chinese-Corporate-MA-Activity-1.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-1934046" src="http://www.valuewalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Chinese-Corporate-MA-Activity-1.jpg" sizes="(max-width: 761px) 100vw, 761px" srcset="http://www.valuewalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Chinese-Corporate-MA-Activity-1.jpg 761w, http://www.valuewalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Chinese-Corporate-MA-Activity-1-300x128.jpg 300w, http://www.valuewalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Chinese-Corporate-MA-Activity-1-129x55.jpg 129w" alt="Chinese Corporate M&amp;A Activity" width="761" height="325" /></a></p> <p>Since 2010, Chinese corporate acquirers have <a href="http://my.pitchbook.com/?pbr=13573327" rel="nofollow"><strong>completed 166 deals for US targets</strong></a>, according to the PitchBook Platform, a little better than half of which closed within the two-year window of 2015 and 2016. The annual average for the period amounts to about 22 completed deals. That stands in stark contrast to Canada and Europe.</p> <p>Over the same period, <a href="http://my.pitchbook.com/?pbr=13573872" rel="nofollow"><strong>Canadian corporate acquirers</strong></a> have completed 1,095 deals for US targets. Meanwhile, <a href="http://my.pitchbook.com/?pbr=13573899" rel="nofollow"><strong>European corporate acquirers</strong></a> have wrapped up a whopping 3,068 deals for US targets.</p> <p>Although corporate M&amp;A activity among Chinese and American companies only paints part of the larger picture of the financial ties that bind the world’s largest economies, this corner of that picture shows China’s acquisitive appetite for US targets to be modest at most.</p> <p><a href="http://www.valuewalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Chinese-Corporate-MA-Activity-2.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-1934047" src="http://www.valuewalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Chinese-Corporate-MA-Activity-2.jpg" sizes="(max-width: 578px) 100vw, 578px" srcset="http://www.valuewalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Chinese-Corporate-MA-Activity-2.jpg 578w, http://www.valuewalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Chinese-Corporate-MA-Activity-2-300x194.jpg 300w, http://www.valuewalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Chinese-Corporate-MA-Activity-2-85x55.jpg 85w" alt="Chinese Corporate M&amp;A Activity" width="578" height="373" /></a></p> <p>B2B and B2C targets have proven the most appetizing to Chinese corporate acquirers, accounting for some 51% of all deals for US companies. In areas like energy or materials and resources, Chinese corporate acquirers appear content to secure access to these industries through trade without needing to buy US suppliers outright.</p> <p>That said, officials from the US and Japan are reportedly in talks to prevent the bankruptcy of Toshiba’s US unit Westinghouse Electric potentially resulting in China’s acquisition of nuclear energy tech and infrastructure assets, according to Reuters. Although Japan trade minister Hiroshige Seko has denied that such negotiations are taking place, the sensitivity to what and how China acquires foreign assets looks set to remain pronounced for quite awhile even as it caps and scales back capital outflows through cross-border M&amp;A.</p> <p>PitchBook Platform users can access <a href="http://my.pitchbook.com/?pbr=13573327" rel="nofollow"><strong>the full M&amp;A dataset</strong></a> on China’s corporate activity into the US.</p> <p><em>[Related: <a href="http://pitchbook.com/news/articles/east-looks-west-a-visual-summary-of-chinese-ma-activity-in-the-us-and-europe" rel="nofollow">East looks West: A visual summary of Chinese M&amp;A activity in the U.S. and Europe</a>]</em></p> <p><strong><em>Article by <a href="http://pitchbook.com/news/articles/how-terse-relations-are-impacting-chinese-corporate-ma-activity-in-the-us" rel="nofollow">PitchBook</a></em></strong></p> <p><em>This article was originally published in <a href="http://www.valuewalk.com/2017/04/terse-relations-impacting-chinese-corporate-ma-activity-us/">ValueWalk</a>.</em></p> <pre>Photo: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jimwinstead/376279402/">Jim Winstead</a></pre> ",
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1317title_var: "You Might Not Want to Get Too Attached to the Term 'Fintech'",
1318description_short: "You can find “fintech” in nobody’s thesaurus, and there’s a good chance the word won’t be around when the financial services sector catches up to the rest of the world’s technology. What's In A Name? “Fintech becomes irrelevant in a couple of years,” said Matthew Hatch, a partner and the Americas FinTech leader at Ernst &amp; Young LLP. “We are ",
1319content_text: "<p><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-15531" src="http://cdn2.nexchange.com/wp-cdn-img/wp-content/uploads/rsz_benzinga_main-300x169.png" alt="rsz_benzinga_main" width="300" height="169" srcset="https://wp.nexchange.com/wp-content/uploads/rsz_benzinga_main-300x169.png 300w, https://wp.nexchange.com/wp-content/uploads/rsz_benzinga_main.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></p> <p>You can find “fintech” in nobody’s thesaurus, and there’s a good chance the word won’t be around when the financial services sector catches up to the rest of the world’s technology.</p> <h3><strong>What&#8217;s In A Name?</strong></h3> <p>“Fintech becomes irrelevant in a couple of years,” said Matthew Hatch, a partner and the Americas FinTech leader at Ernst &amp; Young LLP. “We are using it to describe a change in an industry that has lacked innovation. It will become less relevant as a term as fintech achieves its goals.”</p> <p>Before “fintech” is put out to jargon pasture, “insurtech” is &#8230;</p> <p><a href="https://www.benzinga.com/fintech/17/04/9267113/you-might-not-want-to-get-too-attached-to-the-term-fintech?utm_source=feedburner&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_campaign=Feed%3A+benzinga%2Ftech+%28Channels+-+Tech%29">Read more at Benzinga</a>.</p> <pre>Photo: Getty iStock</pre> ",
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1346title_var: "Growth in the Cloud: The Corporation as Incubator",
1347description_short: "In February 2014, Flickr cofounder Stewart Butterfield and his team officially launched Slack, a platform providing chat and social media services for enterprises. Within a year, the company’s user based zoomed from 16,000 to 500,000. Slack now boasts more than 4 million daily active users and has a valuation north of $1 billion. Today, established corporations are well aware that ",
1348content_text: "<p><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-54957" src="http://cdn2.nexchange.com/wp-cdn-img/wp-content/uploads/EIU-Logo.jpg" alt="EIU Logo" width="950" height="101" /></p> <div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"> <p>In February 2014, Flickr cofounder Stewart Butterfield and his team officially launched Slack, a platform providing chat and social media services for enterprises. Within a year, the company’s user based zoomed from 16,000 to 500,000. Slack now boasts more than 4 million daily active users and has a valuation north of $1 billion.</p> <p>Today, established corporations are well aware that cloud computing can help unicorns like Slack scale quickly. Now enterprises themselves are wondering if they can mimic such growth by implementing side projects, innovation labs or corporate mandates that require workers to spend a percentage of their time pursuing offbeat ideas.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> </div> <div class="node-type-1-tags"></div> <div class="node-type-1-tags"><a href="https://www.eiuperspectives.economist.com/technology-innovation/growth-cloud-corporation-incubator">Read the full article at EIU</a>.</div> <div class="node-type-1-tags"></div> <div class="node-type-1-tags"> <pre>Photo: Getty iStock</pre> </div> ",
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1375title_var: "Endless Bummer: Trump's Base Not Happy With His Pro-Immigration Economic Adviser",
1376description_short: "There's been a lot of buzzing around the media lately about how President Trump's chief strategist Steve Bannon and his nationalistic, "America First" agenda has fallen so out of favor in the White House that he might be on the verge of being forced out. But while Trump might now be embracing the globalist politics of his increasingly influential son-in-law Jared Kushner, ",
1377content_text: "<p>There&#8217;s been a lot of buzzing around the media lately about how President Trump&#8217;s chief strategist Steve Bannon and his nationalistic, &#8220;America First&#8221; agenda has fallen so out of favor in the White House that he might be <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/12/us/politics/steve-bannon-white-house-trump.html?hp&amp;action=click&amp;pgtype=Homepage&amp;clickSource=story-heading&amp;module=first-column-region&amp;region=top-news&amp;WT.nav=top-news&amp;_r=0">on the verge of being forced out</a>.</p> <p>But while Trump might now be embracing the globalist politics of his increasingly influential son-in-law Jared Kushner, there is no denying that it was Bannon&#8217;s &#8220;America First&#8221; agenda that was largely responsible for getting Trump in the White House. And now that Trump is shedding some of this nationalism, which includes vowing support for NATO, Trump&#8217;s rabid base &#8211; already beginning to feel betrayed &#8211; has been given more salt to pour on its wounded soul: The president has appointed Kevin Hassett, a pro-immigration conservative, to lead his Council of Economic Advisers, as the <a href="https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/04/12/us/politics/choice-of-pro-immigration-economic-adviser-riles-trumps-base.html"><em>New York Times</em></a> reports.</p> <p>The <em>Times</em> notes that like &#8220;most economist&#8217;s&#8221; Hassett &#8220;believes that immigration spurs economic growth. At times he has pilloried Republicans for becoming the &#8216;Party of White,&#8217; <a href="http://www.aei.org/publication/arizona-republicans-push-party-far-to-the-white/">arguing in 2010</a> that Republicans like then-Gov. Jan Brewer of Arizona &#8216;have too often appeared hostile to immigrants.&#8217; In 2013, Mr. Hassett said the United States should <a href="http://www.aei.org/publication/america-needs-workers/">double its intake</a> of immigrants.&#8221;</p> <p>This is not sitting well with all the people who threw their support behind Trump&#8217;s unlikely campaign to the White House.</p> <p class="p-block"> <blockquote> <p class="p-block">Mr. Trump’s right-wing media supporters are also up in arms. Breitbart, the website that was formerly run by Stephen K. Bannon, the president’s chief political strategist, said Mr. Hassett’s appointment showed that the <a href="http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/04/09/donald-trump-economic-adviser-pro-immigration-pro-outsourcing/">“corporatist, business-first”</a> was muscling out the “populist, America-first” that got Mr. Trump elected. Commenters on the <a href="https://www.infowars.com/donald-trumps-pick-for-top-economic-adviser-is-pro-immigration-pro-outsourcing/">conservative website Infowars</a> were similarly appalled, with some lamenting, “We have been sold a false bill of goods.”</p> <p class="p-block">Some leaders of the white nationalist “alt-right” movement also interpreted the move as a sellout. “This is yet another betrayal, just like breaking his promise to deport all illegal immigrants and to repeal President Obama’s executive amnesties,” said Jared Taylor, the editor of the online magazine American Renaissance, who spoke highly of Mr. Trump during the campaign.</p> </blockquote> <p class="p-block">Meanwhile, the <em>Times</em> is reporting that &#8220;1,470 economists, both conservative and liberal&#8221; <a href="http://www.newamericaneconomy.org/feature/an-open-letter-from-1470-economists-on-immigration/">have sent a letter</a> to Trump and congressional leaders &#8220;urging them to consider policies that allow more immigrants into the country legally. They contend that the economic benefits outweigh the costs.&#8221;</p> <pre>Photo: Getty iStock</pre> ",
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1404title_var: "How to Train Your Brain to Be More Innovative",
1405description_short: "When we think about an innovative person, our focus is often on their achievements: How they’ve changed their industry, how their big idea is disrupting the landscape that they’re operating in, or the scale and impact of their innovative practices. What we don’t normally consider is the thought process they went through. We hear a lot about why we need to ",
1406content_text: "<p><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-25488" src="http://cdn2.nexchange.com/wp-cdn-img/wp-content/uploads/FastCompany_16_9-300x169.png" alt="FastCompany_16_9" width="300" height="169" srcset="https://wp.nexchange.com/wp-content/uploads/FastCompany_16_9-300x169.png 300w, https://wp.nexchange.com/wp-content/uploads/FastCompany_16_9.png 351w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></p> <div data-reactid="199"> <p>When we think about an innovative person, our focus is often on their achievements: How they’ve changed their industry, how their big idea is disrupting the landscape that they’re operating in, or the scale and impact of their innovative practices.</p> </div> <div data-reactid="201"> <p>What we don’t normally consider is the thought process they went through. We hear a lot about <i>why</i> we need to innovate, but not <i>how </i>we can actually do it.</p> <p>Victor Poirier, a professor at the Institute of Advanced Discovery &amp; Innovation at the University of South Florida, <a href="http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/nai/ti/2017/00000018/00000004/art00013">recently published a research paper in collaboration</a> with nine of his colleagues that looks at the thought process behind innovation. The paper argues that innovation is a series of steps, and that innovators possess certain characteristics. Every individual possesses some of those characteristics—though to varying degree—and Poirier’s work looks at what those characteristics are, and how we can “awaken” them in order to unleash our own innovative genius.</p> <p>According to Poirier’s research, here are a few things we can do to help train our brains to be more innovative.</p> <h4>DON’T WAIT FOR INSPIRATION TO STRIKE, CREATE IT</h4> <p>A-ha moments don’t just appear out of thin air. They follow five steps:</p> <ol> <li>Inspiration</li> <li>Creativity</li> <li>Motivation</li> <li>Entrepreneurship</li> <li>Innovation</li> </ol> <p>Inspiration can strike systematically or spontaneously, but it often occurs after someone has already thought about whatever it is that inspires them. For example, you might be having trouble finding a solution to a problem you’re facing at work. Say you’re responsible for organizing the monthly meeting for your big team, but you find yourself spending a lot of time flicking between calendars, because there’s always a last-minute scheduling conflict. You talk to your colleagues, and then a few days later you realize that the best solution would be to get your whole team to download the Slack scheduling bot that automatically syncs everyone’s calendars and schedules meetings for you.</p> <p>This solution didn’t appear out of nowhere—you let your brain “brew” the information and thoughts and then were able to tap into your creativity and arrive at a solution. In the paper, creativity is defined as “the ability to think about the world in new ways, to think from a clear, open perspective, and to be unencumbered by existing knowledge.” Sometimes a little bit of time is needed to have this perspective, because being too close to the problem can prevent identifying obvious solutions.</p> <p>Of course, ideas without actions aren’t all that useful. So the next step requires you to implement the solution and see whether it provides the value you thought it would—the way an entrepreneur validates their business ideas by testing the market. When the group that you’re trying to help “accepts” your solution, it becomes innovation. Going back to the scheduling example, it’s on you to get your team to download the Slack bot, and also to make sure that you obtain feedback from your team and assess whether it does in fact save you time. If the feedback is positive and you find yourself with more free time as a result, your small solution becomes “innovation.”</p> <h4>CULTIVATE YOUR INNOVATIVE TRAITS</h4> <p>Like creativity, there’s a belief that innovative people are just born that way. That’s not necessarily true, according to Poirier.</p> <p>He tells <i>Fast Company</i>, “Almost everybody [has] innovative traits. Some people use them, some people don’t. [I did this research] to make people aware of what traits people do have, wake up dormant traits that they don’t even know they have, and prove the utilization of those traits.”</p> <div data-reactid="203"> <p>Some of these traits, which Poirier lists in his research paper, include the ability to think abstractly, having deep and broad knowledge, curiosity, openness to risk, grit, and dissatisfaction with the status quo.</p> <p>Poirier believes that working on cultivating the traits that already exist in an individual can lead to a greater ability to be innovative. Poirier and his colleagues at the institute are currently testing and developing ways in which they can teach individuals to do this.</p> <p>If you see any of the above traits in yourself, you can deliberately seek out experiences to put those traits to use. For example, if you think that you possess grit but want to strengthen it, make it a habit to work on a project or goal from start to completion, and be ready to identify alternative paths if your current one isn’t working.</p> </div> <div data-reactid="205"> <h4>PUT YOURSELF IN ENVIRONMENTS THAT ARE CONDUCIVE TO INNOVATION</h4> <p>It’s probably no surprise that your environment plays a major part in developing the innovative characteristics you possess, and determines how often you use them.</p> <p>Poirier notes, “It depends a lot on your background and where you grow up and what you’re exposed to. If your parents are very intelligent, you will probably have more traits, and utilize those traits.”</p> <p>Of course you can’t change the circumstances of your upbringing, but as an adult, we have more of a choice in the kinds of people that we surround ourselves with.</p> <p>You’ve probably <a href="https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/233444">heard the saying</a> that you are the average of the five people you spend the most time with, and this idea also applies in innovation. When you surround yourself with others who possess high levels of innovative traits and constantly use them, you yourself are likely to do the same.</p> <h4>HAVE SOME EGO, BUT NOT TOO MUCH</h4> <p>Ego is often viewed negatively—after all, we’ve seen too many examples of <a href="https://www.fastcompany.com/3050818/that-time-uber-ceo-travis-kalanick-got-into-it-with-a-cab-driver">entrepreneurs who lost their way as a result of excessive ego</a>.</p> <p>But Poirier believes that a little bit of ego can be helpful in creating innovation. “Ego makes people do things that they wouldn’t normally do. For instance, if a group of individuals are trying to solve a problem or create a solution, ego can motivate you to concentrate more, to work hard, to do better than the people around you. They really take the extra effort just because it makes them feel much better and superior to other people.”</p> <p>Poirier notes, however, that there is a point at which ego stops being beneficial. “You can go to the other extreme, and think you’re great when you’re really not.”</p> </div> <div data-reactid="207"> <p>Innovators might be born, but they can also be made and trained. Thomas Edison trained himself to be innovative by testing out all the ways to make a light bulb that didn’t work before finally landing on a method that did, and we can train ourselves to be innovative by cultivating certain characteristics and surrounding ourselves with the right people in the right environment.</p> <pre>Photo: Getty iStock</pre> </div> </div> ",
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1433title_var: "Report: Over 80% of Hong Kong Financial Institutions to Partner With Fintech Companies",
1434description_short: "With only 51% of its institutions adopting a “disruptive” technology, Hong Kong’s financial sector may be a little behind the curve when it comes to fintech. However, it plans to make up for it – in a big way. Citing PwC’s 2nd Global FinTech Survey, CFO Innovation says that a vast majority – 82%, to be specific – of Hong ",
1435content_text: "<p>With only 51% of its institutions adopting a “disruptive” technology, Hong Kong’s financial sector may be a little behind the curve when it comes to fintech. However, it plans to make up for it – in a big way.</p> <p>Citing PwC’s 2nd Global FinTech Survey, <a href="http://www.cfoinnovation.com/story/12886/hks-financial-institutions-intend-partner-fintech-companies">CFO Innovation says</a> that a vast majority – 82%, to be specific – of Hong Kong’s financial institutions plan to partner up with fintech companies within the next 3 to 5 years.</p> <blockquote><p>“The survey respondents in Hong Kong are showing a very pragmatic response to the challenge thrown down by FinTech start-ups,” says Matthew Phillips, Financial Services leader for PwC China and Hong Kong.</p> <p>“The incumbents are looking for a win-win. They can import culture change through partnership, and the start-ups can more easily gain penetration. We are excited about the momentum that is building in the Fintech space and see significant potential for Hong Kong to play a regional role.”</p></blockquote> <p>Interestingly enough, Robotic Process Automation and RegTech were among the most popular fintech subsets with Hong Kong-based respondents. This, according to PWC China and Hong Kong’s FinTech &amp; RegTech lead Henri Arslanian, presents “a unique opportunity for Hong Kong to position itself as a relevant hub for such services that can then be successfully exported regionally, or even globally.”</p> <p>That said, things aren’t all blue skies and chirping birds for Hong Kong fintech; the survey also found that 60% of respondents were concerned by the potential regulatory uncertainties these partnerships could bring, that and the fact that nearly three-quarters of them believe that fintech companies could rev up the threat to information security and privacy.</p> <p>Still though, PWC remains optimistic about fintech’s future in Hong Kong:</p> <blockquote><p>“While there are challenges, the survey highlights a number of exciting opportunities in the FinTech sector in Hong Kong.”</p></blockquote> <p><i>Fintech startups! Have your product adopted by a global financial player!<br /> </i></p> <p><i>Citi HK FinTech Challenge 2017 is a competition to encourage developers and FinTech companies from aorund the world to develop innovative solutions with Citi’s APIs to enhance the banking experience and solve business pain points. Through the Challenge, Citibank aims to arouse public interest on FinTech development while accelerating its use in the financial services industry and at the same time benefiting the general public by bringing more innovative solutions to the market.</i></p> <p><i>Find out more <a href="https://www.citibank.com.hk/english/banking/hk-fintech-challenge2017.html" target="_blank" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&amp;q=https://www.citibank.com.hk/english/banking/hk-fintech-challenge2017.html&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1492562809863000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHP0pfL6GltzBfYeKclmohU6DlVxg">here!</a></i></p> <pre>Photo: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/romainpontida/16215094838/">Romain Pontida</a></pre> ",
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1462title_var: "Amid Global Decline, a Rise in Asian Property Fundraising",
1463description_short: "The Asia-Pacific was the only region in which more capital was raised last year for non-listed real estate vehicles than in 2015, according to a survey. Respondents to the annual survey said that, globally, they raised $128 billion last year, a decline of 5% compared with the total declared in the previous year's survey. The result came despite the number ",
1464content_text: "<p>The Asia-Pacific was the only region in which more capital was raised last year for non-listed real estate vehicles than in 2015, according to a survey.</p> <p>Respondents to the annual survey said that, globally, they raised $128 billion last year, a decline of 5% compared with the total declared in the previous year&#8217;s survey. The result came despite the number of respondents in the survey rising by nine to 162 between the two years.</p> <p>However, respondents said that assets raised for vehicles with an Asia-Pacific strategy increased roughly a quarter to $23 billion in 2016, compared with the previous year.</p> <p>“Pension funds remain the investor group providing the largest source of capital to the non-listed real estate industry in 2016, accounting for almost half of the total equity raised,” said the report by the Association for Investors in Non-listed Real Estate Vehicles (ANREV).</p> <p>“Fund managers remain optimistic about future capital raising activities, with 70% noting they expect capital raising activities to increase over the coming two years,” added the report.</p> <p><strong>©2017 funds global asia</strong></p> <p><em>This article was originally published in <a href="http://www.fundsglobalasia.com/news/amid-global-decline-a-rise-in-asian-property-fundraising">Funds Global Asia</a>.</em></p> <pre>Photo: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/31085717@N00/9109356334/">Khairul Nizam</a></pre> ",
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1491title_var: "China Makes Big Move in Debt-To-Equity SWAPs",
1492description_short: "Debt-to-equity SWAPs in debt-ridden China are flourishing to unprecedented levels, a Natixis report shows, one of several reports on the topic. While the system for exchanging debt for equity is running at “full speed,” there remain issues, namely “it is not perfect,” the report opined, but it could be just shifting the risks. Dramatic growth in Chinese debt-to-equity SWAPs There ",
1493content_text: "<p><a href="http://www.valuewalk.com/"><img class="size-medium wp-image-15670 alignleft" src="http://cdn2.nexchange.com/wp-cdn-img/wp-content/uploads/rsz_valuewalk_medium_logo-300x155.jpg" alt="rsz_valuewalk_medium_logo" width="300" height="155" srcset="https://wp.nexchange.com/wp-content/uploads/rsz_valuewalk_medium_logo-300x155.jpg 300w, https://wp.nexchange.com/wp-content/uploads/rsz_valuewalk_medium_logo-825x430.jpg 825w, https://wp.nexchange.com/wp-content/uploads/rsz_valuewalk_medium_logo.jpg 833w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a></p> <p>Debt-to-equity SWAPs in debt-ridden China are flourishing to unprecedented levels, a <a href="http://www.valuewalk.com/2017/03/china-debt-to-equity-swaps/">Natixis report</a> shows, one of several reports on the topic. While the system for exchanging debt for equity is running at “full speed,” there remain issues, namely “it is not perfect,” the report opined, <a href="http://www.valuewalk.com/2017/03/china-debt-to-equity-swaps/">but it could be just shifting the risks</a>.</p> <p><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-1933893" src="http://www.valuewalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Natixis-debt-to-equity-SWAPs.png" sizes="(max-width: 377px) 100vw, 377px" srcset="http://www.valuewalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Natixis-debt-to-equity-SWAPs.png 377w, http://www.valuewalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Natixis-debt-to-equity-SWAPs-197x300.png 197w, http://www.valuewalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Natixis-debt-to-equity-SWAPs-36x55.png 36w, http://www.valuewalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Natixis-debt-to-equity-SWAPs-296x450.png 296w, http://www.valuewalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Natixis-debt-to-equity-SWAPs-263x400.png 263w" alt="" width="377" height="573" /></p> <h4>Dramatic growth in Chinese debt-to-equity SWAPs</h4> <p>There has been a decided shift in China. The unelected regime at one point decried western-style SWAPs and <a href="http://www.valuewalk.com/2016/06/high-yield-hedging-swaps/">excessive bank leverage</a> – both financial and political. That attitude changed and gained momentum after the 2008 financial crisis, and China has engaged in various forms of financial engineering</p> <p>For debt to equity SWAPs, the growth has been a recent phenomenon, the Natexis report points out. In the third quarter of 2016, for instance, there were only 30 Trillion (RMB) in debt to equity SWAPs. That number swelled to 203 trillion (RMB) in the fourth quarter and today stands at 238 trillion (RMB).</p> <p>The more than seven times increase in debt to equity SWAPs have two primary characteristics: they are relatively industry specific and they are done with one goal in mind: clean up dirty bank balance sheets.</p> <p>“Corporates can turn loans into equity, which in turn lower the liability-to-asset ratio,” research analyst Alicia Garcia Herrero wrote in an April 7 report. “Banks can also dispose of their loans but it is hard to assess what they obtain in exchange.”</p> <h4>Coal and steel primary users, but watch over-leveraged construction and transport industries to increase usage</h4> <p>Currently, the industries exchanging their debt for equity in the company are primarily found in the coal and steel industries, which are the primary forces driving the move, according to the report titled “Debt-to-Equity SWAPs Continue At Full Speed With Deferred Consequences.”</p> <p>Coal is currently the leading industry, accounting for 32% of all Chinese corporate debt-to-equity SWAPs <a href="http://www.valuewalk.com/2017/04/chinese-debt-collapse/">transactions</a>. Steel, accounting for 14% exposure, is a distant second. Most Chinese industries account for a single digit percentage of such financial engineering, but that could change.</p> <p>Natixis thinks the construction industry, currently with 9% of the nation’s debt-to-equity SWAPs, and transport, with 13%, are set to dramatically increase their relative exposures.</p> <p>The debt-to-equity SWAPs may be papering over a larger problem, Herrero thinks. “We expect D/E swaps to continue, as it seems to be an easy – and hardly costly – way to clean up banks,” she wrote. “Unfortunately, the costs (in terms of contagion to the rest of the financial sector) will only be seen down the road.”</p> <p><em>This article was originally published in <a href="http://www.valuewalk.com/2017/04/china-makes-big-move-in-debt-to-equity-swaps/">ValueWalk</a>.</em></p> <pre>Photo: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/hansjohnson/30083852251/">hans-johnson</a></pre> ",
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1520title_var: "Tread Cautiously Heading Into Market-Darling Amazon's Q1",
1521description_short: "Ross Sandler of Barclays initiated coverage of Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) in late March and suggested the stock will be worth $1 trillion one day. Despite the lofty long-term valuation, the analyst believes investors should be "treading cautiously" heading into the company's first-quarter earnings report. In a research report on Thursday, Sandler stated that his checks are pointing to a ",
1522content_text: "<p><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-15531" src="http://cdn2.nexchange.com/wp-cdn-img/wp-content/uploads/rsz_benzinga_main-300x169.png" alt="rsz_benzinga_main" width="300" height="169" srcset="https://wp.nexchange.com/wp-content/uploads/rsz_benzinga_main-300x169.png 300w, https://wp.nexchange.com/wp-content/uploads/rsz_benzinga_main.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></p> <p>Ross Sandler of Barclays <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/2017/03/29/amazon-will-be-worth-1-trillion-one-day-barclays-predicts.html">initiated coverage</a> of <b>Amazon.com, Inc.</b> (NASDAQ: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/amzn#NASDAQ">AMZN</a>) in late March and suggested the stock will be worth $1 trillion one day. Despite the lofty long-term valuation, the analyst believes investors should be &#8220;treading cautiously&#8221; heading into the company&#8217;s first-quarter earnings report.</p> <p>In a research report on Thursday, Sandler stated that his checks are pointing to a &#8220;solid&#8221; performance for <a href="http://benzinga.com/topic/AWS">AWS,</a> but revenue growth could also decelerate based on recent price cuts. In addition, the analyst is expecting AWS&#8217;s CSOI to fall short of the consensus estimates.</p> <p>Sandler is modeling the segment&#8217;s revenue to be $3.7 billion and CSOI of &#8230;</p> <p><a href="https://www.benzinga.com/analyst-ratings/analyst-color/17/04/9298794/tread-cautiously-heading-into-market-darling-amazons-q1?utm_source=feedburner&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_campaign=Feed%3A+benzinga%2Ftech+%28Channels+-+Tech%29">Read more at Benzinga</a>.</p> <pre>Photo: Getty iStock</pre> ",
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1549title_var: "Pandora Just Released its Spotify Killer, and it's Surprisingly Impressive",
1550description_short: "In a way, opening the new Pandora app feels like running into an old friend. For one thing, I haven’t been using Pandora much for the last few years, opting instead to binge on music via Spotify, SoundCloud, and vinyl, dipping into Pandora only rarely. But just like someone from an earlier phase of life, Pandora seems to know me ",
1551content_text: "<p><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-25488" src="http://cdn2.nexchange.com/wp-cdn-img/wp-content/uploads/FastCompany_16_9-300x169.png" alt="FastCompany_16_9" width="300" height="169" srcset="https://wp.nexchange.com/wp-content/uploads/FastCompany_16_9-300x169.png 300w, https://wp.nexchange.com/wp-content/uploads/FastCompany_16_9.png 351w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></p> <div data-reactid="199"></div> <div data-reactid="201"></div> <div data-reactid="201"> <div> <p>In a way, opening the new Pandora app feels like running into an old friend. For one thing, I haven’t been using Pandora much for the last few years, opting instead to binge on music via Spotify, SoundCloud, and vinyl, dipping into Pandora only rarely. But just like someone from an earlier phase of life, Pandora seems to <em>know me</em> and we pick up right where we apparently left off: listening to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slowdive" target="_blank">Slowdive</a>, the dreamy English shoegaze band from the 1990s. I didn’t ask Pandora to take me down this road, but it suits my mood just fine on this chilly March afternoon.</p> </div> <div> <p>Of course, Pandora has always been able to dive into a personalized radio station like this. But now the app has a new trick: Its brand-new on-demand music subscription tier, built to rival Spotify and Apple Music, is layered seamlessly on top of its famous people-and-data-powered playlisting engine. Pandora Premium is here. So far it sounds pretty good, but I can’t help but wonder whether or not it’s too late.</p> <p>Tim Westergren, the Pandora cofounder who became the company’s CEO last year, insists that there’s still time: “One of the reasons we’re doing this is because we think people haven’t done this right yet. Right now, subscription services are 30 million songs and a search box. It’s the equivalent of handing somebody the keys to the record store and saying, ‘Good luck!’”</p> <p>Indeed, the new Pandora puts curation and discovery first in its design, pushing listeners toward playlists and stations and making it effortlessly easy to create their own. It also goes to great lengths to solve what Westergren terms “the cold start problem” of music services by jumping right into a song when you open the app rather than waiting for the listener to make a decision.</p> <p>Scrolling through the app, there’s another thread to my digital nostalgia. The app’s design recalls the sleek, minimal interface of Rdio, the on-demand music service I used briefly before Spotify landed in the United States in 2011. It’s no coincidence: <a href="https://www.fastcompany.com/3058719/most-innovative-companies/inside-pandoras-plan-to-reinvent-itself-and-beat-back-apple-and-sp" target="_self">Pandora acquired Rdio and its team in late 2015 to build out its foray into the music subscription market</a> now firmly dominated by Spotify. That move, along with its acquisitions of TicketFly and NextBigSound, was made to reposition Pandora in the streaming space, wooing both artists and listeners, and reengineering its business model.</p> <div> <p>It’s not just design and talent that Pandora absorbed when it bought Rdio. As my Slowdive radio station flows onward, hitting just the right spot with bands like the Jesus and Mary Chain, My Bloody Valentine, and Interpol, it goes somewhere I wasn’t expecting–a song by the Stone Roses that I’m familiar with but hadn’t saved to my virtual music collection on Spotify or anywhere else. For the first time since Pandora launched its music streaming service 12 years ago, I can save the song and even explore the album it’s on. Until now, I would have had to jump over to Spotify or another music app to do that. This moment—when people like me close the app—is the one that Westergren has long hated. Starting this week, he’s hoping we’ll stop.</p> <p>This, in a nutshell, is why Pandora is shifting courses. As hugely innovative as its internet radio model and the underlying algorithms were when they debuted, music listening has since changed irrevocably. Now we expect instant access to almost any song we can think of—and more than 100 million of us now pay for that luxury. Streaming is now where a majority of the music industry’s revenue comes from and—while the economics of it all are still shaking out for many artists—virtually everyone agrees that these trends will continue well into the future.</p> <p><strong>The Features: What’s In Pandora’s Shiny New Box?</strong></p> <p>So what is Pandora Premium? In a sentence, it’s a souped-up version of Rdio woven very seamlessly into the Pandora that its 78 million active listeners already know and love. Like its on-demand competitors, the new Pandora offers access to tens of millions of songs for $10 per month. The company’s executives have talked about the possibility of launching additional tiers and charging more for additional features for super-fans, but this is where they’re starting.</p> </div> <div> <p>The music selection is more or less what you’d expect from a subscription service, with some noticeable omissions. Few will be surprised to learn that Taylor Swift’s most recent album <em>1989</em> is not available, but the rest of her catalog is. At the time of publication, the Beatles’ catalog is not available either. That’s not a shock considering the band only landed on other subscription services 15 months ago, after years of holding out. But details like this are a small competitive setback at a time when the competition is already so fierce.</p> <p>When music is missing, Pandora is able to offer listeners a small compromise that other services can’t: Because its original internet radio service is based on a compulsory licensing model (rather than the direct deals with labels that on-demand music requires), you can still start a radio station based on those songs and, in theory, hear them in that context. You just can’t pick and choose which of those missing songs you hear or when. So even when an album is missing, Pandora will still show a grayed-out listing in search results hoping that listeners will opt to start a station or keep exploring rather than tap out of the app. And presumably, Pandora must hope, future negotiations with rights holders will fill in many of these blanks.</p> <p>The main entryway into the listening experience on Pandora is the “My Music” tab. It’s here that Pandora blends your recently played stations and playlists with the music you’ve saved for on-demand playback. Like the company itself, Pandora’s new design is curation-first, giving slightly preferential treatment to playlists and discovery over pick-and-choose, album-oriented listening. But both modes—“lean back” and “lean forward,” in tech industry parlance—are easily accessible from this screen. The “Browse” subsection is where you’ll find personalized, daily-updated new releases and recommended artists, as well as a selection of playlists curated by things like genre, decade, and activity.</p> <p>Pandora may be a straggler in the music subscription space, but it’s dragging some distinct advantages over the app launch finish line. Foremost among them is data. After 12 years, over 250 million accounts opened (many listeners have obviously come and gone), and 75 billion thumb button taps, Pandora has amassed a mountain of intelligence about people’s music preferences. This is the company’s bread and butter. Having trained the Music Genome Project with flesh-and-blood musicologists for 17 years (this initiative predates even its radio service), the company has scaled up its music discovery and curation chops with a sophisticated blend of data science, machine learning, and, yes, human music experts.</p> <p>Not surprisingly, Pandora flexes its legacy muscles throughout its new service. The act of thumbing songs up or down is still prevalent, but now hitting the “thumbs up” button also saves each song to a playlist for later indulging. Bonus: If you’re a longtime Pandora user (even if you’ve abandoned it in recent years), you can go back and listen to the songs you thumbed years ago. This can resurface old gems you’d forgotten about—or perhaps remind you that taste is a nuanced, ever-evolving thing that sometimes refines as we get older. It’s fine.</p> <div> <p>If you are returning to Pandora after some time away, you may be pleasantly surprised to find original programming like its Questlove Supreme radio show and new features like personalized concert ticket recommendations and seamless ticket buying (for select shows) through its integration with TicketFly.</p> <p>As one might expect, Pandora injects its data science and personalization prowess into other places inside the app as well. When you’re building a playlist, for instance, a button at the bottom of the screen invites you to let Pandora’s algorithms suggest songs to add, effectively mining the wisdom of the crowd to help ensure you don’t add to the millions of orphaned playlists already floating in the ether. More than anything, this little trick aims to keep you listening longer, as Pandora’s designers try to ward off distractions and keep the app’s engagement metrics palatable to shareholders. From the music that auto-plays when you first launch it to personalized details like this, Pandora Premium seems designed to be as sticky and easy to use as possible.</p> </div> <div> <p>“Sometimes you want to listen to <em>Dark Side of the Moon</em> from beginning to end,” says Westergren. “Most of the time, that’s not what you want to do. The much harder thing is, when you’re tired of those things, how do you create ongoing engagement? We’re masters of engagement.”</p> <p><strong>Who Is Pandora Premium For?</strong></p> <p>The idea of launching a new music subscription service in 2017 would be utterly insane if it weren’t for one detail: Pandora already has 78 million monthly active listeners. If the company has a shot at competing, it will come primarily from its ability to upsell some of these listeners to its new $10 subscription tier.</p> <p>The rollout of Pandora Premium will be iterative and targeted. It begins this week and will continue through mid-April in phases, selectively coaxing existing Pandora users that might be likely to sign up based on their listening activity. People who hit the song-skipping limit or frequently thumb-up songs by the same artist, for instance, are prime targets for the new service.</p> <p>One group of listeners that won’t be impressed is the audiophile set. The ‘standard’ quality setting to which Pandora defaults feels like its the equivalent to an 192kbps MP3, which is fine. The ‘high’ quality option sounds better (Don’t bother switching to ‘low’ unless you’re feeling nostalgic for the days of finding cruddy MP3s deep inside the virtual junk drawers of Napster). But listening side by side on a few tracks, Pandora sounds a hair lower in quality than what I’m used to Spotify with the default quality cranked to ‘extreme’ and the in-app EQ settings (a feature that’s notably absent from Pandora, for now) set to my liking. I’m not a religious fanatic when it comes to audio quality, but other services seem to take this detail more seriously. Deezer and Tidal specialize in high-fidelity audio and Spotify is reportedly experimenting with a new hi-fi tier as well. Pandora isn’t there yet. That said, the sound quality of Pandora will do just fine for the average listener, which is who the company is likely aiming for first anyway.</p> <p>Overall, Pandora is peddling a very polished, well-designed product, but it’s unlikely to reel in many people who are already committed to a service like Spotify or Apple Music. That’s because there’s very little here, aside from aesthetics and a legacy of smart music curation, that can’t be found on other services. Even perks like personalized new releases and the “add similar songs” button found their way into Spotify in the time that’s passed since Pandora acquired Rdio. Unfortunately for Pandora, Spotify has vastly improved its own curation and discovery features over the last year and a half. Pandora is still arguably better at the artist-based radio stations, but Spotify has made itself much more addictive through <a href="https://www.fastcompany.com/3049231/tech-forecast/inside-spotifys-plan-to-take-on-apple-music" target="_self">personalized music features like Discover Weekly</a>, Release Radar, and My Daily Mix, as well as hand-curated playlists. Features like this have helped <a href="https://news.fastcompany.com/50-million-people-now-pay-for-spotify-4031711" target="_self">propel Spotify past the 50 million subscriber mark</a>. Apple Music, also famously heavy on good music curation, is catching up fast with 20 million subscribers. Pandora Premium is solid, but if you’re already invested in another service, you’re likely to find enough here to justify abandoning your music collection and playlists to start fresh.</p> <div> <p>Of course, that may change. This is only version one of Pandora Premium. Features like more original programming and smarter targeting of super-fans could make Pandora more alluring. It’s also worth noting how much Pandora—and its future product development efforts—stand to gain from all the extra data they’re getting by going into on-demand streaming. Pandora’s music recommendation brain is remarkably smart considering it only learns from signals like the thumbs-up button, which songs and artists you use to start radio stations, and which tracks you skip. Starting this week, Pandora’s algorithms will start learning about people’s music preferences in much more detail and they can only get smarter as a result. Pandora’s product team likely already realizes this, but a playlist import tool would go a long way toward roping people in from other music apps.</p> <p>It’s also early in the music subscription game. For people who haven’t yet taken the plunge by paying for Spotify or another service, Pandora is a pretty compelling option. Pandora undoubtedly would have been better off had it entered the on-demand music market two or three years ago. Now that it’s here, we’ll see if brand seniority, good design, and smart curation are enough to keep bigger competitors at bay.</p> </div> <div> <p>When it first launched its internet radio service in 2005, Pandora had very little competition to speak of. The landscape is quite different today as Pandora extends its service into the crowded on-demand music market. Considering how fierce the competition is, Pandora has to be pretty ballsy to not only jump into the game this late, but to base its experience so heavily on its own curation—assuming, for instance, that I’m ready to listen to Slowdive as soon as I open the app.</p> <p>“People are unforgiving when it comes to music,” says Westergren, seemingly aware of how audacious this curation-heavy foray into a crowded marketplace truly is. “You don’t wait. You pass judgement. You switch stations.”</p> <pre>Photo: Getty iStock</pre> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> ",
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1578title_var: "California Gives Apple Green Light to Test Self-Driving Cars",
1579description_short: "Apple will soon be testing its self-driving software platform on public streets after the California Department of Motor Vehicles granted the tech giant a permit on Friday to do so, Bloomberg is reporting. The California DMV acknowledged Apple's permit on its website. This is the first time Apple has received a permit to test its technology on public streets, according to ",
1580content_text: "<p>Apple will soon be testing its self-driving software platform on public streets after the California Department of Motor Vehicles granted the tech giant a permit on Friday to do so, <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-04-14/apple-gets-dmv-approval-to-test-self-driving-cars-in-california"><em>Bloomberg</em></a> is reporting.</p> <p>The California DMV acknowledged Apple&#8217;s permit on its website. This is the first time Apple has received a permit to test its technology on public streets, according to <em>Bloomberg</em>.</p> <p>More per <em>Bloomberg</em>:</p> <blockquote><p>The Cupertino, California-based company will soon begin testing self-driving car software with existing cars, the person said. Apple started developing a self-driving car a few years ago before it pulled back and focused on first developing underlying autonomous technology last year, Bloomberg News has reported.</p> <p>Subject to standard regulations for testing autonomous technology on public roads, the cars will have a person behind the wheel to monitor the testing, the person said. The California permit covers three 2015 Lexus RX540h SUVs, and six drivers, the DMV said. Alphabet Inc.’s Waymo and Uber Technologies Inc.’s self-driving test cars also have people behind the wheel during tests on public roads.</p></blockquote> <p>Apple declined to comment to <em>Bloomberg</em>. The <em><a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/apple-secures-permit-to-test-autonomous-vehicles-in-california-1492186362">Wall Street Journal</a></em> notes that Apple joins Google and Tesla in securing permits to test autonomous driving technology on California&#8217;s public streets.</p> <pre>Photo: Apple</pre> <p>&nbsp;</p> ",
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1607title_var: "The Anatomy of a Successful Entrepreneur [Infographic]",
1608description_short: "Have you ever wondered what sets a successful entrepreneur apart from everyone else? A study of 549 business founders conducted by the Kauffman Foundation for Entrepreneurship aimed to find out just that: what makes a successful entrepreneur? The results of the study are in and, interestingly, it doesn’t seem to be nepotism or an upper class upbringing that creates these ",
1609content_text: "<p><a href="http://www.valuewalk.com/"><img class="size-medium wp-image-15670 alignleft" src="http://cdn2.nexchange.com/wp-cdn-img/wp-content/uploads/rsz_valuewalk_medium_logo-300x155.jpg" alt="rsz_valuewalk_medium_logo" width="300" height="155" srcset="https://wp.nexchange.com/wp-content/uploads/rsz_valuewalk_medium_logo-300x155.jpg 300w, https://wp.nexchange.com/wp-content/uploads/rsz_valuewalk_medium_logo-825x430.jpg 825w, https://wp.nexchange.com/wp-content/uploads/rsz_valuewalk_medium_logo.jpg 833w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a></p> <p>Have you ever wondered what sets a successful entrepreneur apart from everyone else? A study of 549 business founders conducted by the Kauffman Foundation for Entrepreneurship aimed to find out just that: what makes a successful entrepreneur?</p> <p>The results of the study are in and, interestingly, it doesn’t seem to be nepotism or an upper class upbringing that creates these business minded bosses. So, to not leave you hanging, here’s what makes a successful entrepreneur!</p> <p><img src="https://www.central-london-apartments.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/entrepreneur-anatomy.jpg" width="100%" /></p> <p>The Anatomy Of A Successful Entrepreneur – An infographic by the team at <a href="https://www.central-london-apartments.com/blog/anatomy-successful-entrepreneur/" rel="nofollow">Central London Apartments</a></p> <p><em>This article was originally published in <a href="http://www.valuewalk.com/2017/04/anatomy-successful-entrepreneur-infographic/">ValueWalk</a>.</em></p> <pre>Photo: <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rembrandt_Harmensz._van_Rijn_007.jpg">Public Domain</a></pre> ",
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1636title_var: "Deutsche Bank Notes Asian Economy Strong Based on Exports",
1637description_short: "The outlook from Asia is strong, Deutsche Bank’s economists note, as they wonder in a monthly regional report is this “As good as it gets?” The Asian economy, while displaying signs of strength, is also the subject of flashes, the report notes. It is exports that drive the Asian economy Asian exports have rebounded sharply in the first quarter of ",
1638content_text: "<p><a href="http://www.valuewalk.com/"><img class="size-medium wp-image-15670 alignleft" src="http://cdn2.nexchange.com/wp-cdn-img/wp-content/uploads/rsz_valuewalk_medium_logo-300x155.jpg" alt="rsz_valuewalk_medium_logo" width="300" height="155" srcset="https://wp.nexchange.com/wp-content/uploads/rsz_valuewalk_medium_logo-300x155.jpg 300w, https://wp.nexchange.com/wp-content/uploads/rsz_valuewalk_medium_logo-825x430.jpg 825w, https://wp.nexchange.com/wp-content/uploads/rsz_valuewalk_medium_logo.jpg 833w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a></p> <p>The outlook from <a href="http://www.valuewalk.com/2017/03/risk-rally-risk-assets-global-trade/">Asia </a>is strong, Deutsche Bank’s economists note, as they wonder in a monthly regional report is this “As good as it gets?” The Asian economy, while displaying signs of strength, is also the subject of flashes, the report notes.</p> <p><a href="http://www.valuewalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/DB-4-11-Asian-economics.png"><img class="aligncenter wp-image-1934396 size-full" src="http://www.valuewalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/DB-4-11-Asian-economics.png" sizes="(max-width: 509px) 100vw, 509px" srcset="http://www.valuewalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/DB-4-11-Asian-economics.png 509w, http://www.valuewalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/DB-4-11-Asian-economics-300x259.png 300w, http://www.valuewalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/DB-4-11-Asian-economics-64x55.png 64w, http://www.valuewalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/DB-4-11-Asian-economics-464x400.png 464w" alt="Asian economy" width="509" height="439" /></a></p> <h4>It is exports that drive the Asian economy</h4> <p>Asian exports have rebounded sharply in the first quarter of 2017, in part dispelling the negative notion that the export engine had suffered a structural break. The “Asian export puzzle” is the primary performance driver behind higher growth forecasts in the region, Deutsche Bank’s Asian Economics research team notes in an April 7 report.</p> <p>Looking at Asia one sees an idiosyncratic picture of regional nuance, from strong growth momentum in China and Hong Kong to bottoming inflation in Indonesia and improving political risk in India while the economy is on the mend in Thailand.</p> <p>But amid this positive past performance backdrop, concerns appear on the horizon. With the US potentially carrying out a trade review in the region and North Korea representing a troubling fly in the economic ointment, future growth is not as solid a given as one might expect. On March 31, President Trump signed two executive orders to review the US trade deficit and strengthen anti-dumping rules and enforcement, a point of “apprehension,” particularly among North East Asian economies.</p> <p>“The Korean authorities did not rule out the possibility of Korea being labeled a <a href="http://www.valuewalk.com/2017/04/currency-manipulater-dollar/">currency manipulator</a>, while the Central Bank of China (CBC, Taiwan) has taken pains to avoid such a labeling, noting that had not intervened in the FX market and that Taiwan’s trade surplus with the US would fall significantly if the arms deal were approved,” the report observed.</p> <p>Overall, however, the Deutsche Bank research team of Diana Del-Rosario, Juliana Lee, Michael Spencer, Li Zeng and Zhiwei Zhang don’t think the US trade review will necessarily weigh on global trade. “We think that if it focuses on ensuring adherence to international norms, rules and agreements, its efforts would then be positive for global trade,” they wrote. However, there are concerns.</p> <p>Commodity prices pulling back and currency <a href="http://www.valuewalk.com/2017/04/mini-rate-hikes-china/">risks </a>with “upside inflation surprises” hinting at earlier than anticipated central bank rate hikes, the look at the economy with a degree of trepidation.</p> <p><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-1934395" src="http://www.valuewalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/DB-4-11-Asian-economics-2.png" sizes="(max-width: 523px) 100vw, 523px" srcset="http://www.valuewalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/DB-4-11-Asian-economics-2.png 523w, http://www.valuewalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/DB-4-11-Asian-economics-2-300x262.png 300w, http://www.valuewalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/DB-4-11-Asian-economics-2-63x55.png 63w, http://www.valuewalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/DB-4-11-Asian-economics-2-515x450.png 515w, http://www.valuewalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/DB-4-11-Asian-economics-2-458x400.png 458w" alt="" width="523" height="457" /></p> <h4>Trade war is a key concern in the region</h4> <p>With US GDP growth at 2.6% and the Euro Area at an anemic 1.3%, China’s strong reported 6.5% growth rate is coming as the People’s Bank of China is engaging in mini-hikes that are targeting the non-banking sector and attempting to raise interest rates off the floor so as not to prick the property <a href="http://www.valuewalk.com/2017/04/chinese-debt-collapse/">bubble</a>. The property bubble is a risk in the region as it is getting larger amid strong infrastructure spending and property investment that continues to increase.</p> <p>In Hong Kong, growth is expected to improve further on a recovery in export demand as the US review of trade policies could be positive for the region if it leads to liberalization with China. But concerns are that the issue could be taken too far, resulting in an “aggressively protectionist stance” that would be “very negative news.” Another risk for the one-time British colony is that tourism growth proves elusive.</p> <p>In <a href="http://www.valuewalk.com/2017/02/india-secret-nuclear-city-pakistan/">India</a>, the appreciation of its currency and rise in the equity markets is a result of favorable state election outcomes and fiscal management. Mother nature, in the form of a potential summer monsoon, could result in risks to growth and food inflation, which are concerns.</p> <p>The Philippines is a strong region as well, as Deutsche Bank revised up its 2017 and 2018 growth forecasts to 6.2% and 6.5%, respectively, with exports surprising to the upside. Singapore, likewise, is buoyed by strong exports while in South Korea exports are strong but internal demand is a weakness.</p> <p><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-1934394" src="http://www.valuewalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/DB-4-11-Asian-economics-3.png" sizes="(max-width: 527px) 100vw, 527px" srcset="http://www.valuewalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/DB-4-11-Asian-economics-3.png 527w, http://www.valuewalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/DB-4-11-Asian-economics-3-300x236.png 300w, http://www.valuewalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/DB-4-11-Asian-economics-3-70x55.png 70w, http://www.valuewalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/DB-4-11-Asian-economics-3-508x400.png 508w" alt="" width="527" height="415" /></p> <p><em>This article was originally published in <a href="http://www.valuewalk.com/2017/04/deutsche-bank-notes-asian-economy-strong-based-on-exports/">ValueWalk</a>.</em></p> <pre>Photo: <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:FRA_Deutsche_Bank.jpg">Nordenfan</a></pre> ",
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1665title_var: "Report: Hotel Industry Takes Aim at Airbnb Threat; Airbnb Calls Hotel Industry a 'Cartel'",
1666description_short: "The U.S. hotel industry is aggressively taking aim at the threat that Airbnb poses to its bottom line, taking credit for two recent regulatory roadblocks placed in front of the home-sharing startup, according to documents obtained by the New York Times. The American Hotel and Lodging Association, which is an industry trade organization that includes Hilton Worldwide, Hyatt Hotels and Marriott ",
1667content_text: "<p>The U.S. hotel industry is aggressively taking aim at the threat that Airbnb poses to its bottom line, taking credit for two recent regulatory roadblocks placed in front of the home-sharing startup, according to documents obtained by the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/16/technology/inside-the-hotel-industrys-plan-to-combat-airbnb.html?hpw&amp;rref=technology&amp;action=click&amp;pgtype=Homepage&amp;module=well-region&amp;region=bottom-well&amp;WT.nav=bottom-well&amp;_r=0"><em>New York Times</em></a>.</p> <p>The American Hotel and Lodging Association, which is an industry trade organization that includes Hilton Worldwide, Hyatt Hotels and Marriott International as members, delivered presentations to its board in November and December in which it took credit for two notable regulatory actions: The first was the signing in October of a bill by New York Governor Andrew Cuomo that would levy steep fines against Airbnb hosts who breach local housing rules; the second was an investigation launched by the Federal Trade Commission &#8211; at the behest of three senators &#8211; launched last year into how how short-term rentals affect rising housing costs.</p> <p>In the documents from the presentation that the <em>Times</em> obtained, the trade group called both regulatory developments &#8220;notable accomplishments.&#8221; According to the the <em>Times</em>, both regulatory actions were &#8220;partly the result of a previously unreported plan that the hotel association started in early 2016 to thwart Airbnb&#8221; that includes a local, state and federal campaign.</p> <p>Per the <em>Times</em>:</p> <blockquote> <p id="story-continues-3" class="story-body-text story-content" data-para-count="310" data-total-count="1846">In the past, hotel executives typically played down the privately held company’s impact on the $1.1 trillion American hotel industry. As recently as December, a Marriott executive dismissed Airbnb as not “really making headway in the corporate environment, which is really our bread-and-butter business.”</p> <p class="story-body-text story-content" data-para-count="389" data-total-count="2235">Yet there is now little mistaking that Airbnb is encroaching on the traditional hotel business. The company, which is based in San Francisco, was founded in 2008 as a way for people to easily list and rent out their spare rooms or their homes online. Since then, about 150 million travelers have stayed in three million Airbnb listings in more than 191 countries, according to the company.</p> </blockquote> <p class="story-body-text story-content" data-para-count="389" data-total-count="2235">Since the San Francisco-based company launched in 2008,  roughly &#8220;150 million travelers have stayed in three million Airbnb listings in more than 191 countries, according to the company.&#8221; Pointing to data from CB Insights, the <em>Times</em> notes that Airbnb has raised more than $3 billion and secured another $1 billion line of credit.</p> <p class="story-body-text story-content" data-para-count="389" data-total-count="2235">Airbnb is not taking the hotel trade group&#8217;s campaign against its business lying down, invoking a name normally reserved for criminal organizations.</p> <blockquote> <p class="story-body-text story-content" data-para-count="389" data-total-count="2235">The industry’s plan against Airbnb shows “the hotel cartel is intent on short-sheeting the middle class so they can keep price-gouging consumers,” Nick Papas, a spokesman for Airbnb, wrote in an email. “With more than 250 government partnerships over the last year, we have shown our seriousness of purpose when it comes to putting in place fair rules.”</p> </blockquote> <p class="story-body-text story-content" data-para-count="389" data-total-count="2235">Central to the hotel industry&#8217;s fight against Airbnb will be to lobby local politicians and state attorneys general in an effort to reduce the number of Airbnb hosts, according to the <em>Times</em>.</p> <pre>Photo: Hilton Worldwide</pre> ",
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1694title_var: "Bill Ackman is Adding a Rooftop Tennis Court to Pershing Square's Offices",
1695description_short: "It has been a really, really bad slump for Bill Ackman, who just admitted that his terrible bet on Valeant Pharmaceuticals was a losing bet, but make no mistake about it: The Pershing Square founder is still very much living in a literal penthouse, if not metaphorically so anymore. The Wall Street Journal published an article on Sunday about how the ",
1696content_text: "<p>It has been a really, really bad slump for Bill Ackman, who just admitted that <a href="http://www.nexchange.com/article/13222">his terrible bet on Valeant Pharmaceuticals</a> was a losing bet, but make no mistake about it: The Pershing Square founder is still very much living in a literal penthouse, if not metaphorically so anymore.</p> <p>The <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-new-manhattan-office-trend-penthouses-1492344000?mod=e2tw"><em>Wall Street Journal</em></a> published an article on Sunday about how the hottest trend for landlords of Manhattan office spaces is adding penthouses in an effort to compete with fancy new office buildings that are popping up in neighborhoods like Lower Manhattan. Brian Waterman, vice chairman at real-estate-services firm Newmark Grubb Knight Frank, tells the <em>Journal</em> the &#8220;office penthouse additions are part of a broader push by owners to carve out more dynamic amenity spaces to appeal to tenants looking to embellish their brands and recruit top employees.&#8221;</p> <p>One of the recipients of a sweet penthouse addition is none other than Ackman&#8217;s Pershing Square offices, according to the <em>Journal</em>.</p> <blockquote><p>Creating penthouse space is logistically challenging. At 787 11th Avenue, Georgetown Co. and its partners are adding a two-story, 90,000 square-foot glass box with terrace space, a tennis court for its top-floor tenant, Pershing Square Capital Management LP, and a separate 13,000 square-foot rooftop deck for the now eight-story building.</p> <p>The owners are able to do this by using floor space removed to create a double-height space between floors six and seven, said Adam Flatto, Georgetown’s chief executive.</p></blockquote> <p>A rooftop tennis court!</p> <p>Ackman is known to be a big tennis aficionado who once paid $100,000 to play a charity doubles match with John and Patrick McEnroe, as <a href="http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2016/10/is-bill-ackman-toast"><em>Vanity Fair</em></a> noted in a damning feature about Ackman&#8217;s investment struggles.</p> <blockquote> <p data-reactid="223">Early in the match, McEnroe hit a lob to Ackman, who slammed it back, directly at McEnroe’s body. The gentlemanly thing to do would have been to warn McEnroe that the ball was coming at him, and then to subsequently apologize. But Ackman instead smashed the shot and turned around and walked to the baseline, without saying a word.</p> <p data-reactid="224">McEnroe seemed pissed. Here he was humoring some hedge-fund guy for charity, and the dude was taking it so seriously and being rude about it to boot.</p> </blockquote> <p data-reactid="224">We&#8217;re going to assume McEnroe won&#8217;t be heading to Pershing&#8217;s tennis court for a rematch with Ackman anytime soon.</p> <pre>Screenshot via Bloomberg</pre> ",
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1723title_var: "Two New Active ETFs With Unique Spins on Risk Management",
1724description_short: "It's simple math. It takes big gains to make up for big losses in financial markets. Actually, the gains have to be bigger than the losses to help investors just get back to even after incurring a big loss. Two new actively manged ETFs from Illinois-based First Trust operate on the premise that it can be advantageous to miss out ",
1725content_text: "<p><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-15531" src="http://cdn2.nexchange.com/wp-cdn-img/wp-content/uploads/rsz_benzinga_main-300x169.png" alt="rsz_benzinga_main" width="300" height="169" srcset="https://wp.nexchange.com/wp-content/uploads/rsz_benzinga_main-300x169.png 300w, https://wp.nexchange.com/wp-content/uploads/rsz_benzinga_main.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></p> <p>It&#8217;s simple math. It takes big gains to make up for big losses in financial markets. Actually, the gains have to be bigger than the losses to help investors just get back to even after incurring a big loss.</p> <p>Two new actively manged ETFs from Illinois-based First Trust operate on the premise that it can be advantageous to miss out on some upside as long as investors also miss out on the worst drawdowns. The <b>EquityCompass Tactical Risk Manager ETF</b> (NYSE: TERM) and the <b>EquityCompass Risk Manager ETF </b>(NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/erm#NYSE">ERM</a>) debuted earlier this week.</p> <h3><strong>Playing It &#8216;Safe&#8217; With TERM And ERM</strong></h3> <p>The EquityCompass Risk Manager ETF&#8217;s primary objective is to provide investors with long-term capital appreciation with capital preservation being a secondary objective. ERM holds 150 stocks with a <a href="http://www.ftportfolios.com/Retail/Etf/EtfSummary.aspx?Ticker=ERM">median market value of $60.1 billion</a>. None of &#8230;</p> <p><a href="https://www.benzinga.com/trading-ideas/long-ideas/17/04/9295476/2-new-active-etfs-with-unique-spins-on-risk-management?utm_source=feedburner&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_campaign=Feed%3A+benzinga%2Fetfs+%28Channels+-+Etfs%29">Read more at Benzinga</a>.</p> <pre>Photo: Getty iStock</pre> ",
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1752title_var: "Weighing the Week Ahead: How Should Investors Cope With Geopolitical Risk?",
1753description_short: "Last week I suggested that the market might be ready for some real news—corporate earnings. That is still a key topic, but attention is focused on world events. Pundits will be asking: How Should Investors Respond to Geopolitical Risks? Last Week Last week the economic news was good, but mostly ignored. Theme Recap In my last WTWA I predicted that ",
1754content_text: "<p><a href="https://www.advisorperspectives.com/"><img class="size-medium wp-image-14866 alignleft" src="http://cdn2.nexchange.com/wp-cdn-img/wp-content/uploads/AD_Pers_LOGO21-300x54.gif" alt="AD_Pers_LOGO2" width="300" height="54" /></a></p> <p>Last week I suggested that the market might be ready for some real news—corporate earnings. That is still a key topic, but attention is focused on world events. Pundits will be asking:</p> <p><strong><em>How Should Investors Respond to Geopolitical Risks?<br /> </em></strong></p> <p>Last Week</p> <p>Last week the economic news was good, but mostly ignored.</p> <p>Theme Recap</p> <p>In my last WTWA I predicted that attention would shift to corporate earnings reports. Little did I know that a passenger dragged from a United Airlines flight would dominate the news cycle for the week. Just as that was losing interest, the Trump military actions grabbed the spotlight. So much for my expectation (and hope) of returning to news focused on financial markets.</p> <p>The Story in One Chart</p> <p>I always start my personal review of the week by looking at this <a href="https://www.advisorperspectives.com/dshort/updates/2017/04/14/s-p-500-snapshot-down-1-13-from-last-week">great chart from Doug Short</a> via Jill Mislinski. She notes the small daily moves and the 1.13% loss for the week.</p> <p><a class="galleryImg" href="https://www.advisorperspectives.com/images/content_image/data/72/726de25062fefff03177e6e18f66c536.png"><img class="ap-lazy-image loaded" src="https://www.advisorperspectives.com/images/content_image/data/72/726de25062fefff03177e6e18f66c536.png" width="433" height="277" data-src="/images/content_image/data/72/726de25062fefff03177e6e18f66c536.png" /></a></p> <p>Doug has a special knack for pulling together all the relevant information. His charts save more than a thousand words! Read his entire post for several more charts providing long-term perspective, including the size and frequency of drawdowns.</p> <p><em>Read more at <a href="https://www.advisorperspectives.com/commentaries/2017/04/17/weighing-the-week-ahead-how-should-investors-cope-with-geopolitical-risk">Advisor Perspectives</a>.</em></p> <pre>Photo: <a href="http://www.uritours.com/">Uri Tours</a></pre> ",
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1781title_var: "'Pressure on' for Alternative Asset Managers",
1782description_short: "As institutions in Asia increase their allocations to alternative asset classes, asset managers are rushing to build up relevant expertise. Korean institutions are among the most eager to invest, with many aiming to put more than a fifth of their portfolios in alternative assets by 2020, says research firm Cerulli Associates. “With the protracted low-yield environment and uncertain economic outlook, ",
1783content_text: "<p>As institutions in Asia increase their allocations to alternative asset classes, asset managers are rushing to build up relevant expertise.</p> <p>Korean institutions are among the most eager to invest, with many aiming to put more than a fifth of their portfolios in alternative assets by 2020, says research firm Cerulli Associates.</p> <p>“With the protracted low-yield environment and uncertain economic outlook, many institutional investors in Asia ex-Japan have been actively looking to allocate more to alternative investments, often outside their home markets. The pressure is on for asset managers to build their expertise in this space,” said the research firm in a report.</p> <p>State pension funds in Taiwan and Malaysia are adding to the demand for alternative assets as they struggle to hit their investment targets amid low returns from traditional asset classes.</p> <p>“Competition in this space will only get stiffer as more asset managers try to get a slice of this increasingly attractive pie,” said Cerulli Associates. “Failure to build and position expertise in this space will be costly for managers that have not already done so.”</p> <p><strong>©2017 funds global asia</strong></p> <p><em>This article was originally published in <a href="http://www.fundsglobalasia.com/news/pressure-on-for-alternative-asset-managers">Funds Global Asia</a>.</em></p> <pre>Photo: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/57875964@N08/14623199976/">Cory Denton</a></pre> ",
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1810title_var: "Theranos Agrees to 2-Year Ban on Clinical Blood Work",
1811description_short: "Theranos Inc. pledged to stay out of the blood-testing business for at least two years in exchange for reduced penalties from federal health authorities, the company said, in an agreement that resolves a year-long regulatory impasse. Read more at MarketWatch. Photo: TechCrunch",
1812content_text: "<p><a href="http://www.marketwatch.com/?mod=nexchange"><img class="size-medium wp-image-7204 alignleft" src="http://cdn2.nexchange.com/wp-cdn-img/wp-content/uploads/MarketWatch_Main1-300x57.png" alt="MarketWatch_Main[1]" width="300" height="57" srcset="https://wp.nexchange.com/wp-content/uploads/MarketWatch_Main1-300x57.png 300w, https://wp.nexchange.com/wp-content/uploads/MarketWatch_Main1.png 800w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a></p> <p>Theranos Inc. pledged to stay out of the blood-testing business for at least two years in exchange for reduced penalties from federal health authorities, the company said, in an agreement that resolves a year-long regulatory impasse.</p> <p><em>Read more at <a href="http://www.marketwatch.com/story/theranos-agrees-to-2-year-ban-on-clinical-blood-work-2017-04-17?mod=nexchange">MarketWatch</a>.</em></p> <pre>Photo: <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Elizabeth_Holmes_2014_(cropped).jpg">TechCrunch</a></pre> ",
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1839title_var: "Wealth Advisers: Embrace Technology or Risk Losing Next Generation of Clients",
1840description_short: "Digital solutions can enhance advisory services for firms and clients Michael Spellacy is senior partner of asset management and leader of global wealth management at PwC in New York. Voices is an occasional feature of edited excerpts in which wealth managers address issues of interest to the advisory community. As told to Alex Coppola. From mobile banking apps to investing ",
1841content_text: "<p><a href="http://www.wsj.com/asia?mod=nexchange"><img class="size-medium wp-image-7202 alignleft" src="http://cdn2.nexchange.com/wp-cdn-img/wp-content/uploads/WSJ_Main1-300x77.png" alt="WSJ_Main[1]" width="300" height="77" srcset="https://wp.nexchange.com/wp-content/uploads/WSJ_Main1-300x77.png 300w, https://wp.nexchange.com/wp-content/uploads/WSJ_Main1.png 800w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a></p> <h4 class="sub-head">Digital solutions can enhance advisory services for firms and clients</h4> <p><em>Michael Spellacy is senior partner of asset management and leader of global wealth management at PwC in New York. Voices is an occasional feature of edited excerpts in which wealth managers address issues of interest to the advisory community. <strong>As told to Alex Coppola.</strong></em></p> <p>From mobile banking apps to investing portals, clients are surrounded by digital technology that makes their financial lives easier. Despite that, <a class="icon none" href="https://www.pwc.com/jg/en/publications/pwc-wealth-management-sink-or-swim-why-wealth-management-cant-afford-to-miss-the-digital-wave.pd" target="_blank">a recent survey on financial technology by PwC</a> showed that fewer than 30% of advisory firms offer digital solutions beyond email communication.</p> <p>That disparity between what clients want and value and what they get from their advisers might help explain why fewer than 25% of high-net-worth clients are likely to recommend the adviser’s services. Advisers like to think of themselves as trusted resources, but clients don’t necessarily agree. That’s a fundamental problem that advisers and firms need to address.</p> <p>Firms as a whole need to be more proactive in meeting clients’ needs, serving them more efficiently and providing solutions. Advisers and firms should think of financial technology not as a problem or challenge, but as an opportunity to deepen their ties to—and improve the experiences of—their clients.</p> <p>Consider the ways that the robo-advisory industry has used technology to streamline the process of opening accounts, gathering and organizing new client information. While a client will routinely go through dozens of steps to open an account at a traditional firm, they can often join an online adviser in just minutes. When a traditional firm uses systems that simplify those kinds of administrative processes, it not only improves margins but it also removes a major pain point for clients and improves their experience.</p> <p>The purpose of technology is not to replace interactions with clients, but to optimize them. Think, for example, about the way that many firms collect and organize information about their clients’ needs and goals. Typically they’re recorded and then filed away until they’re reviewed at an annual check-in. But what if those goals were entered into a system where they became digital data points rather than notes in a filing cabinet? Such a system can regularly inform and notify users about those goals, helping advisers to proactively and strategically offer clients certain services and guidance. Technology allows advisers and firms to stay on top of their clients’ needs and tailor their services accordingly, bring value in ways that simply weren’t possible before.</p> <p>With younger generations expecting access to digital tools and poised to benefit from a historic generational transfer of wealth, the time is right for advisers to stand up and become part of the discussion over technology at their firms. For advisers and their firms to remain successful in a rapidly changing and increasingly competitive industry, they need to be active participants in decisions about technology rather than the passive recipients of them.</p> <p><em>This article was originally published in <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/wealth-advisers-embrace-technology-or-risk-losing-next-generation-of-clients-1492437033?mod=nexchange">The Wall Street Journal</a>.</em></p> <pre>Photo: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jdhancock/8505360513/">JD Hancock</a></pre> ",
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1868title_var: "Arconic's CEO Ouster Won't Satisfy Paul Singer's Elliott Management",
1869description_short: "Arconic Inc.’s ouster of Chief Executive Klaus Kleinfeld means activist investor Elliott Management Corp.’s bullying tactics have paid off, as the stock surged toward its biggest gain in two months. Read more at MarketWatch. Photo: World Economic Forum",
1870content_text: "<p><a href="http://www.marketwatch.com/?mod=nexchange"><img class="size-medium wp-image-7204 alignleft" src="http://cdn2.nexchange.com/wp-cdn-img/wp-content/uploads/MarketWatch_Main1-300x57.png" alt="MarketWatch_Main[1]" width="300" height="57" srcset="https://wp.nexchange.com/wp-content/uploads/MarketWatch_Main1-300x57.png 300w, https://wp.nexchange.com/wp-content/uploads/MarketWatch_Main1.png 800w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a></p> <p>Arconic Inc.’s ouster of Chief Executive Klaus Kleinfeld means activist investor Elliott Management Corp.’s bullying tactics have paid off, as the stock surged toward its biggest gain in two months.</p> <p><em>Read more at <a href="http://www.marketwatch.com/story/arconics-ceo-ouster-a-big-win-for-paul-singers-elliott-management-2017-04-17?mod=nexchange">MarketWatch</a>.</em></p> <pre>Photo: <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Global_Financial_Context_Paul_Singer.jpg">World Economic Forum</a></pre> ",
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1897title_var: "'Billions' Star on How to Play a Hedge Fund Boss",
1898description_short: "Actor David Costabile (“Wags”) has embraced the world of hedge funds. He chatted with Barron’s Next about learning to talk -- and walk -- the part. On the Showtime series Billions , actor David Costabile (“Wags”) has played to the hilt the capital vices of lust, gluttony, greed, envy, sloth, and wrath. “I get to say all the best lines,” ",
1899content_text: "<p><a href="http://online.barrons.com/asia?mod=nexchange"><img class="size-medium wp-image-7206 alignleft" src="http://cdn2.nexchange.com/wp-cdn-img/wp-content/uploads/Barrons_Main1-300x74.png" alt="Barrons_Main[1]" width="300" height="74" srcset="https://wp.nexchange.com/wp-content/uploads/Barrons_Main1-300x74.png 300w, https://wp.nexchange.com/wp-content/uploads/Barrons_Main1.png 420w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a></p> <h4 class="sub-head">Actor David Costabile (“Wags”) has embraced the world of hedge funds. He chatted with Barron’s Next about learning to talk &#8212; and walk &#8212; the part.</h4> <p>On the Showtime series <em> <a class="icon none" href="http://www.sho.com/billions" target="_blank">Billions</a> </em>, actor David Costabile (“<a class="icon none" href="http://www.sho.com/billions/cast/mike-wags-wagner" target="_blank">Wags</a>”) has played to the hilt the capital vices of lust, gluttony, greed, envy, sloth, and wrath.</p> <p>“I get to say all the best lines,” Costabile says, with a fair amount of pride.</p> <p>The actor, who previously starred in Breaking Bad and The Wire, has become a fan favorite for his performance as Mike “Wags” Wagner, chief operating officer of the fictional hedge fund Axe Capital and right-hand man to <a class="icon none" href="http://www.sho.com/billions/cast/bobby-axelrod" target="_blank">Bobby Axelrod</a> (Damian Lewis). Wags is as smart as he is sinful, and isn’t afraid to play dirty on the way to striking paydirt.</p> <p>Costabile also explores themes of capitalism in his other project, a spectacular production of Eugene O’Neill’s play <em> <a class="icon none" href="http://armoryonpark.org/programs_events/detail/hairy_ape" target="_blank">The Hairy Ape</a> </em> at New York’s Park Avenue Armory. One of O’Neill’s <a class="icon none" href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/4015/4015-h/4015-h.htm" target="_blank">lesser-known works</a>, the play follows ship workers who question their self-worth as they confront the well-heeled class of Fifth Avenue. Costabile plays Paddy, an Irishman who spends his days shoveling coal into the furnace of a stokehole. Despite the inhuman working conditions, Paddy is romantic about his youth, of beautiful ships and men he calls “sons of the sea.”</p> <p>There’s less room for romance in the world of Billions. <em>Barron’s Next</em> talked to Costabile about the TV role and being immersed in the parlance, and partying culture, of hedge funds.</p> <p><strong>Did you research hedge funds and their culture to play Wags?</strong></p> <p>There’s a bunch of books to read and you get a sense once you start diving into the financial language of understanding what the hell any of it means. It initially seemed more like hieroglyphics.</p> <p><strong>So how did you learn to make sense it?</strong></p> <blockquote> <p class="pullquote-content"><span class="l-qt">‘</span>It initially seemed more like hieroglyphics.<span class="r-qt">’</span></p> <p><small><span class="inset-author">—Billions actor David Costabile on learning the language of Wall Street and hedge funds.</span></small></p></blockquote> <p>One of the first things I gave myself as a task was to try and be able to explain the 2008 crisis by reading <em>Too Big to Fail</em> [by Andrew Ross Sorkin, who’s also one of the creators of <em>Billions</em>] and<em> The Big Short </em>[by Michael Lewis].</p> <p>I was really trying to get my mind around collateralized debt obligations and tranches. I think I did, and I almost could explain it to you. The real task is to make it feel like it’s something you say every day. I can’t say “collateralized debt obligations” in my off time [he stumbles slightly on the word “collateralized”], but if I were dressed as Wags now, I could. It is about putting on that skin, getting inside that weird language.</p> <p>For me it was about the feeling of somebody who reads The Wall Street Journal and <em>Barron’s</em> every day, who looks at Fortune Magazine as People, the easy-reading version of that. And really giving yourself the task of doing it a lot.</p> <p><strong>Have you become interested in applying this to your own personal finance?</strong></p> <p>No [laughs]. I know some things but boy I wouldn’t, and don’t, rely on myself for those answers. The amount of study and time that it takes to really understand how to do that &#8212; there may come a time when I will, but I don’t have any real sense of joy about figuring out stocks and bonds. It seems ill-advised to take a dilettante’s point-of-view and dabble here and there. As someone who’s been a gambler all my life, I understand the gambler’s mentality for sure, but I don’t have enough interest in it to do it myself.</p> <p><strong>Is there a similar “gambler’s mentality” in the Billions world?</strong></p> <p>I’m less interested in how it manifests intellectually for them but more emotionally and physically. With both the two main players in “Billions,” you get a real physical sense from them and you see it manifest throughout the show. They’re exercising, playing different games, the way they walk or the way they challenge other people physically is all about that same risk.</p> <p>And you see it when you go to casinos. You know what you’re looking for specifically. It’s clear what that person wants, the dice to come up this way, the card to go up that way. They’ve manifested the risk with the chips in front of them. But in this world, the chips are abstractions. The numbers are so big. You don’t have the dollars in front of you. You’re abstracting that desire to win, to need, to conquer, to best someone.</p> <p><strong>Are the Wall Street folks you meet in real life similar to the characters on the show?</strong></p> <p>A couple months ago, I rang the bell at the New York Stock Exchange and went down on the floor after and met all the guys &#8212; it’s mostly men &#8212; and it was totally fascinating. It’s like 1,001 character exercises. They all watch the show and love the show.</p> <p>I was totally fascinated by who they were and their interest in it. Mostly the older guys who were my age or older had been there 35 years, and all had the same story: “I didn’t know anything, I just started doing this.”</p> <p><strong>Are there real-life inspirations for Wags, specifically?</strong></p> <p>There are many [hedge fund] people who the writers are basing this on and their experience with meeting those people. That’s the way that Wags comes to life. His aggression, his rage, his intelligence, his wiliness, his sense of fun. One of the great feelings that I’ve experienced from the show is people on the street are like “Hey Wags, I’ve got an a&#8211;hole boss just like you.”</p> <p><strong>A recent episode shows Wags taking some brokerage guys to Saint Venus &#8212; an “erotic venue.”</strong></p> <p>They go to this strip club, which exists &#8212; these things really exist. I had never heard of this before, Saint Venus, these invitation-only temporary strip clubs. The director and writer of the episode both went and spent a lot of time asking them questions about it. It sounds really horrible. It’s a loft space with a curtain and the women give you a lap dance. It’s just a bar and loft wherever they do it. You’re sort of cheek by jowl, it isn’t private, it’s just like that scene.</p> <p><em>This article was originally published in <a href="http://www.barrons.com/articles/billions-star-on-how-to-play-a-hedge-fund-boss-1492448063?mod=nexchange">Barron&#8217;s</a>.</em></p> <pre>Photo: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/christopherortiz/14792331996/">chrisjortiz</a></pre> ",
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1926title_var: "Video: Citi's HK Fintech Challenge and the Possibilities It Creates for Startups",
1927description_short: "Mark Cheng, CEO of Mind Fund Studio, talks to NexChange’s Andrew Work about the Mind Fund Group and the possibilities that Citi’s HK Fintech Challenge creates. Have a gander: Citi HK FinTech Challenge Press Conference : Mark Cheng, Head of Mind Fund Studio from NexChange on Vimeo.",
1928content_text: "<p>Mark Cheng, CEO of Mind Fund Studio, talks to NexChange’s Andrew Work about the Mind Fund Group and the possibilities that Citi’s HK Fintech Challenge creates. Have a gander:</p> <p><div class="video-container"><iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/210874318" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></div></p> <p><a href="https://vimeo.com/210874318">Citi HK FinTech Challenge Press Conference : Mark Cheng, Head of Mind Fund Studio</a> from <a href="https://vimeo.com/user38333529">NexChange</a> on <a href="https://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p> ",
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1955title_var: "Moody's: Blockchain on Track to Disrupt Specific Segments of Wall Street",
1956description_short: "Blockchain has been all the buzz in financial services. A new report from Moody’s notes the potential for growth and disruption on Wall Street but also points out the nuance. Certain industries and functions are likely to be more impacted by the Bitcoin-based structure technology than others. Post-trade processes being highly targeted Blockchain is currently being tested or considered around ",
1957content_text: "<p><a href="http://www.valuewalk.com/"><img class="size-medium wp-image-15670 alignleft" src="http://cdn2.nexchange.com/wp-cdn-img/wp-content/uploads/rsz_valuewalk_medium_logo-300x155.jpg" alt="rsz_valuewalk_medium_logo" width="300" height="155" srcset="https://wp.nexchange.com/wp-content/uploads/rsz_valuewalk_medium_logo-300x155.jpg 300w, https://wp.nexchange.com/wp-content/uploads/rsz_valuewalk_medium_logo-825x430.jpg 825w, https://wp.nexchange.com/wp-content/uploads/rsz_valuewalk_medium_logo.jpg 833w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a></p> <p>Blockchain has been all the buzz in financial services. A new report from Moody’s notes the potential for growth and disruption on Wall Street but also points out the nuance. Certain industries and functions are likely to be more impacted by the <a href="http://www.valuewalk.com/2017/03/blockchain-tech-govt-bitcoin/">Bitcoin-based structure</a> technology than others.</p> <p><a href="http://www.valuewalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Moodys-4-17-chart-1.png"><img class="aligncenter wp-image-1937009 size-full" src="http://www.valuewalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Moodys-4-17-chart-1.png" sizes="(max-width: 919px) 100vw, 919px" srcset="http://www.valuewalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Moodys-4-17-chart-1.png 919w, http://www.valuewalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Moodys-4-17-chart-1-300x192.png 300w, http://www.valuewalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Moodys-4-17-chart-1-768x491.png 768w, http://www.valuewalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Moodys-4-17-chart-1-86x55.png 86w, http://www.valuewalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Moodys-4-17-chart-1-705x450.png 705w, http://www.valuewalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Moodys-4-17-chart-1-626x400.png 626w" alt="Blockchain" width="919" height="587" /></a></p> <h4>Post-trade processes being highly targeted</h4> <p>Blockchain is currently being tested or <a href="http://www.valuewalk.com/2017/03/blockchain-technology-bitcoin/">considered </a>around the securities and derivatives trading lifecycle, Sam Jones and a team of analysts at Moody’s noted in an April 12 report. What was at one point a theoretical discussion is becoming reality, as enthusiasm for blockchain grows as applications move into live production.</p> <p>The report, titled “Blockchain Has Potential to Transform Many Elements of Securities Trading,” provides an overview of the areas that are being targeted – and the intermediaries being disrupted.</p> <p>Post-trade processes are among the clearest beneficiaries, as manual reconciliation between intermediaries and counterparts was the initial low-hanging fruit for the transaction tracking application.</p> <p>Blockchain is a technology derived from the bitcoin “cryptocurrency” that encrypts blocks of data that can only be appended. The touted benefits include improved operational efficiency, increased transparency, simplified regulatory oversight and reporting and improved security as a “consensus” is required to change blockchain data.</p> <p>“Each block can be thought of as a record of various transactions between multiple parties, each of whom has real-time access to a shared database,” Moody’s explained. The block is encrypted with a link to the previous block, it cannot be altered without unencrypting and amending all subsequent blocks, a big to make electronic fraud more difficult. Blockchain solutions typically involve use of one or more of five key pillars to the technologies structure: 1) shared ledger; 2) distributed consensus; 3) cryptographic security; 4) immutable and non-repudiable history of transactions; and 5) smart contracts.</p> <p>It is from this foundation that a revolution in the financial services processing method is taking place.</p> <div></div> <p><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-1937007" src="http://www.valuewalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Moodys-4-17-chart-2.png" sizes="(max-width: 659px) 100vw, 659px" srcset="http://www.valuewalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Moodys-4-17-chart-2.png 659w, http://www.valuewalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Moodys-4-17-chart-2-300x145.png 300w, http://www.valuewalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Moodys-4-17-chart-2-114x55.png 114w" alt="" width="659" height="319" /></p> <h4>Less liquid markets are most susceptible to blockchain automation</h4> <p>Among the first implementation of the Blockchain technology are asset classes with less liquid markets, more manual processes and slower settlement times. This includes over the counter derivatives, syndicated loans and other “one-off” transactions where blockchain technology enables faster throughput.</p> <p>Blockchain also has uses in lower volume securities trading, with private securities being one example.</p> <p>“For derivatives contracts, for example, the existing role of the CCP will remain more relevant as these contracts have a much longer time span, increasing the benefits of novation (i.e., the CCP becoming the buyer to the seller and the seller to the buyer) and counterparty risk and default management,” the report noted. Many of the bank OTC derivatives contracts reside in paper format and are not digitized, as ValueWalk has previously reported.</p> <p>Blockchain technology may not be right for all services, particularly when the investor does not own the securities or cash, as is the case in margin finance and short selling.</p> <p>Moody’s breaks down five <a href="http://www.valuewalk.com/2016/08/blockchain-bitcoin-explained/">blockchain user groups</a>, each of which have different needs and concerns.</p> <p>The major exchanges, such as CMEGroup, Nasdaq, Intercontinental Exchange, LSE and the like might actually witness “limited impact” from the technology as trade execution processes in the centrally cleared exchanges “are relatively efficient.”</p> <p>“Matching trades through price discovery on a blockchain appears difficult because many trades are canceled or revised, which would be complicated by the blockchain’s immutability,” the report opined. “Additionally, exchanges ensure the anonymity of trading participants, which remains an often-cited hurdle for blockchains.”</p> <p>The largest impact might be felt by the <a href="http://www.valuewalk.com/2017/04/around-80-banks-developing-blockchain-technology/">Custodian Banks</a>, where “the top four banks hold more than 50% of assets under custody held by the largest 75 banks globally,” the report noted. “Their role will unlikely become obsolete as the largest custodians are actively developing blockchain solutions.”</p> <p><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-1937008" src="http://www.valuewalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Moodys-4-17-chart-3.png" sizes="(max-width: 667px) 100vw, 667px" srcset="http://www.valuewalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Moodys-4-17-chart-3.png 667w, http://www.valuewalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Moodys-4-17-chart-3-300x265.png 300w, http://www.valuewalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Moodys-4-17-chart-3-62x55.png 62w, http://www.valuewalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Moodys-4-17-chart-3-510x450.png 510w, http://www.valuewalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Moodys-4-17-chart-3-453x400.png 453w" alt="" width="667" height="589" /></p> <p><em>This article was originally published in <a href="http://www.valuewalk.com/2017/04/blockchain-on-track-to-disrupt-specific-segments-of-wall-street/">ValueWalk</a>.</em></p> <pre>Photo: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/sangre-la/2403067087/">Mark Goebel</a></pre> ",
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1984title_var: "Payment Processors at the Gate",
1985description_short: "peter@inasiamedia.com Regulatory hurdles in Ant Financial and MoneyGram deal may affect fintech development. Euronet, a Kansas-based electronics payments company, is attempting to hijack a planned takeover of its US rival MoneyGram by China’s Ant Financial. Euronet’s main claim for a successful bid is that the Chinese company has no chance of gaining regulatory approval by US authorities. It is a ",
1986content_text: "<h5><a href="mailto:peter@inasiamedia.com">peter@inasiamedia.com</a></h5> <p><i>Regulatory hurdles in Ant Financial and MoneyGram deal may affect fintech development.</i></p> <p>Euronet, a Kansas-based electronics payments company, is attempting to hijack a planned takeover of its US rival MoneyGram by China’s Ant Financial. Euronet’s main claim for a successful bid is that the Chinese company has no chance of gaining regulatory approval by US authorities. It is a bold, yet predictable gambit against Ant’s owners, Alibaba founder Jack Ma and other influential, Beijing-backed funds. But, it also adds regulatory obstacles to the global development of financial technology.</p> <p>In January, the world’s most valuable fintech (financial technology) company, Ant Financial Services, an affiliate of the online shopping giant Alibaba Group, sought to expand in the US buy lodging a USD880 million bid for US money transfer provider MoneyGram International. The closely held Chinese firm has a USD60 billion valuation. It offered a 12 percent premium to its target’s closing price at the time of the bid.</p> <p>MoneyGram was a unit of Travelers created in the 1940s. It cooperates with 350,000 banks, kiosks, stores and other locations in 200 countries to allow customers to send cash from one place to another. Recently, it expanded into the digital space allowing customers to send money via the web or mobile apps, or direct bill payment via cash. MoneyGram doesn’t depend on a single transfer corridor or hub. Its systems link both to US payments as well as those flowing from the Middle East to India, and from Africa into Asia. Ant has also expanded into India and Thailand.</p> <p>The public takeover battle is getting tense given MoneyGram is currently holding talks with Euronet over its own, USD940 million offer, while keeping Ant’s agreed USD880 million deal on hold. Ironically, Euronet &#8211; a US company which generates more than 70 percent of its revenues overseas &#8211; is using the threat of US regulatory rejection to disrupt the deal.</p> <p>Euronet took the offensive by saying CIFIUS (the Committee of Foreign Investment in the US) would be reluctant to accept a situation where a US company handling sensitive data of American citizens and military personnel fell into Chinese hands. As evidence, Euronet provided a map of MoneyGram locations near Fort Bragg, the Army base in North Carolina, to show the close links. Ant countered that it would adhere to strict data controls and US data would remain in country, supervised by US regulators.</p> <p>This ploy seems to have raised some doubts among MoneyGram’s directors and shareholders that their existing deal with Ant Financial may be jeopardised by a greater chance of failure than Euronet’s all-American proposal.</p> <p>But, a Chinese company acquiring MoneyGram shouldn’t raise substantial concerns from CFIUS.</p> <p>So far, there is little evidence it would pose a national security risk, although that perhaps depends on how you define such a concept in today’s changing environment. It also has onerous regulatory implications for Chinese acquirers in the financial sector because it might also embolden competitors to threaten CFIUS regulatory intervention any time a Chinese buyer threatens their industry position.</p> <p>Another regulatory wild card is President Donald Trump’s threat to cut off US remittance payments to Mexico as part of an effort to restrict and deter illegal immigration. This sharp policy shift could affect part of MoneyGram’s business.</p> <p>The fight for MoneyGram shows how the financial technology landscape is further evolving to include non-bank financial platform providers such as Amazon, mobile payment services and e-commerce companies such as Alibaba and Ant Financial. This requires established financial institutions and regulators to keep an open mind to acquisitions, alliances and relationships with unconventional players.</p> <p>For example, very few banks would have taken a meeting with Amazon seriously just a few years ago if it offered a relationship based on platform partnerships. Today, banks and financial technology firms have successfully combined information-rich data with advanced analytics. It has allowed them to gain valuable insights into their customers’ behavioural patterns, financial product preferences and life events.</p> <p>Despite a positive conference between Presidents Xi and Trump last week, recent events in North Korea could overtake and strain the US-China relationship. Yet Jack Ma is compelled to raise his bid, because if he retreats it will give the market an impression that Ant Financial cannot close on acquisitions and can be thwarted by regulatory barriers. This would be a major setback to its international ambitions.</p> <p><i>This is an opinion column. The thoughts expressed are those of the author.</i></p> <p><em>This article was originally published in <a href="http://www.regulationasia.com/article/payment-processors-gate">Regulation Asia</a>.</em></p> <pre>Photo: <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:0869-Attack-on-the-walls-of-a-besieged-town-q75-500x412.jpg">Public Domain</a></pre> ",
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2013title_var: "EIU's 2017 Global Banking Report",
2014description_short: "Can fintech make people love banks again? Well, that seems to be the big bet banks are making right now. However, the process of creating a solid relationship between banking and fintech isn’t as easy at is seems. As the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) points out, “domination is harder and more expensive than assumed.” In fact, thanks to industry differences, ",
2015content_text: "<p><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-54957" src="http://cdn2.nexchange.com/wp-cdn-img/wp-content/uploads/EIU-Logo.jpg" alt="EIU Logo" width="950" height="101" /></p> <p>Can fintech make people love banks again? Well, that seems to be the big bet banks are making right now.</p> <p>However, the process of creating a solid relationship between banking and fintech isn’t as easy at is seems. As the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) points out, “domination is harder and more expensive than assumed.” In fact, thanks to industry differences, fully automated banking may not happen at all.</p> <p>Still though, banks are looking for ways to collaborate with fintech companies to attract clients, and the EIU surveyed over 200 senior retail banking executives to see how the two can coexist and flourish in the future.</p> <p>Read more about the survey, <a href="https://www.eiuperspectives.economist.com/financial-services/global-retail-banking-report-2017/white-paper/global-retail-banking-report-2017">here</a>.</p> <pre>Photo: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/stonechat/15666837379/">Jack Torcello</a></pre> ",
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2042title_var: "The Sleep Science Behind Fitbit's New Alta HR Fitness Tracker",
2043description_short: "If you’re nodding off while reading this, it might not be because of my writing. You may not have had enough sleep—either the overall duration or the right mix of light, deep, and REM (rapid eye movement) sleep. Lots of fitness trackers measure the duration of slumber and periods of restlessness, using accelerometers to register movement. Now Fitbit says it ",
2044content_text: "<p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-25488" src="http://cdn2.nexchange.com/wp-cdn-img/wp-content/uploads/FastCompany_16_9-300x169.png" alt="FastCompany_16_9" width="300" height="169" srcset="https://wp.nexchange.com/wp-content/uploads/FastCompany_16_9-300x169.png 300w, https://wp.nexchange.com/wp-content/uploads/FastCompany_16_9.png 351w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></span></p> <div> <p>If you’re nodding off while reading this, it might not be because of my writing. You may not have had enough sleep—either the overall duration or the right mix of light, deep, and REM (rapid eye movement) sleep. Lots of fitness trackers measure the duration of slumber and periods of restlessness, using accelerometers to register movement. Now <a href="https://www.fitbit.com/" target="_blank">Fitbit</a> says it can break sleep down by stage using the optical heart rate monitor in some of its fitness bands to measure slight fluctuations. The capability, called Sleep Stages, debuts in Fitbit’s slim new Alta HR band (available in April, starting at $150) and through a software update for its current Blaze and <a href="https://www.fastcompany.com/3063242/at-the-heart-of-fitbits-new-features-your-heart" target="_self">Charge 2</a> bands.</p> </div> <div> <p>“Fitbit was a way to really address a broad consumer need,” says Conor Heneghan, the company’s director of research. An entrepreneur and former professor at University College Dublin, Heneghan joined Fitbit two years ago with the goal of bringing some of the capabilities of a sleep lab to a consumer device that people could wear all the time, not just when wired up for study.</p> <p>The Alta HR is a subtle upgrade to the original Alta (introduced in 2016) that adds continuous heart-rate monitoring—the most-requested feature, according to Fitbit. The optical sensor lays almost flush on the underside of the band, unlike the prominent bump under the larger Charge 2, which sometimes presses a slight dent into my wrist. I got to wear the new Alta HR for just a few minutes, but it felt less likely to do that.</p> <p>The new band comes in 10 styles ranging from basic black to 22-karat rose gold. Four colors are available in the floppy, entry-level elastomer bands. I found the leather bands, in three colors for $60 extra, a bit more comfortable. The top Alta HR model costs $250 and is mounted in a stainless-steel bracelet. (Bands are interchangeable, so you can always upgrade.)</p> <h4>INACTIVITY TRACKER</h4> <p>With the Alta HR, Fitbit is upping the value of heart-rate monitoring to include sophisticated sleep tracking. Fitbit isn’t the first company to claim the ability to distinguish sleep stages. Intel’s now-defunct <a href="http://allthingsd.com/20131008/basis-band-starts-shipping-to-everyone-as-health-tracking-company-adds-another-11-75m/comment-page-1/" target="_blank">Basis brand</a> used an optical heart-rate monitor in its Basis Peak model back in 2014 to do something similar. Rival Jawbone began distinguishing sleep stages in 2015 with skin sensors in its <a href="https://jawbone.com/fitness-tracker/up3" target="_blank">Up3</a> band that measure factors including heart rate, respiration rate, and body temperature.</p> <p>Colin Espie, a professor of sleep medicine and the University of Oxford (who isn’t affiliated with Fitbit), hasn’t been impressed with any of these past attempts. “In short I haven’t seen a wearable that accurately measures sleep architecture (stages of sleep),” he told me in an email.</p> <div> <p>Regardless of what came before, Fitbit’s entry into sleep-stage tracking could have a big effect on raising awareness. Fitbit is the Kleenex of fitness trackers, the dominant brand with over 20% market share among all wearable devices, <a href="http://www.idc.com/getdoc.jsp?containerId=prUS41996116" target="_blank">according to IDC</a>. It’s bringing sleep-stage tracking not only to a new product but to existing ones, including its biggest-selling model, the Charge 2, which tops several reviewers’ lists of best fitness trackers.</p> <p>Fitbit is also bringing another feature, called Sleep Insights, to all seven of its devices that track the duration of sleep. Insights are simple tips, based on data people’s devices collect, to help them get better sleep. An example, provided by Fitbit:</p> </div> <div> <blockquote><p>There seems to be a strong correlation between your sleep and your runs. The last 10 weeknight logs show that you had 20 mins more restful sleep on days you ran vs. days you didn’t.</p></blockquote> <p>With Stages and Insights, Fitbit is making the case that fitness depends not just on being active, but on relaxing. “We’re beginning to understand that sleep is as important to health as diet and exercise,” says Dr. Nathaniel Watson, a University of Washington professor and past president of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, who is also not affiliated with Fitbit. “These consumer sleep technologies, I think, are playing a role in getting people to understand that.”</p> <p>It’s about time. More than a third of Americans don’t get enough sleep, <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK19960/" target="_blank">according to U.S. government research</a>, and the resulting tiredness trims $411 billion worth of productivity off the U.S. economy every year, according to <a href="http://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RR1791.html" target="_blank">research by the Rand Corporation</a>. (It’s not just America: Japan loses $138 billion due to sleepiness.) The list of <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/features/dssleep/index.html#References" target="_blank">possible ailments caused by poor sleep</a> is long and troubling, including hypertension, diabetes, depression, obesity, and even cancer. We are stealing time not only from slumber but from longevity</p> <p><strong>THE HEART OF SLEEP</strong></p> <p>Can Fitbit’s new technology really judge sleep stage accurately and provide enough insight to help users get healthy? Sleep science experts from the University of Arizona, Johns Hopkins University, and Stanford University consulted on the development of Sleep Stages, and Heneghan has a good track record in the field. But they won’t present their research until the SLEEP 2017 conference in Boston in June. “Even where companies try to get the edge on their competitors by publishing studies they have undertaken, most of these studies don’t even get published in the first place because they are not of good enough scientific quality, and are rejected by journals,” says Espie. (He is also CMO of Big Health, a company that provides online sleep quality assessment and guidance.)</p> <p>The updated Fitbit app for Android, iOS, and Windows—which the company says will be available in the spring—wasn’t ready for me to try. With neither published findings nor anecdotal experience, I could ask outside experts only if a fitness band’s optical heart-rate monitor, with help from its accelerometer, would be enough to distinguish sleep stages accurately. In principle it would be, says Watson.</p> <p>The conventional way to measure sleep stages would involve a trip to a sleep lab and wiring the patient up to a number of devices, most notably an electroencephalogram (EEG). Wakefulness and the different stages of sleep, as well as transitions between them all, have distinctive brainwave patterns that the EEG can measure. For instance, the transition from light to deep sleep (called N3) is marked by the appearance of high-voltage, low-frequency delta brainwaves. Newer research shows that cardiovascular changes provide similar signals. Deep sleep is also marked by minimal heart rate and blood pressure, for instance. A <a href="http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fphys.2013.00294/full" target="_blank">2013 paper</a> by researchers in Austria, Brazil, and the Czech Republic pulls together studies in the field to show these parallels between brain wave and cardiovascular signals.</p> <div> <p>It’s plausible that sleep can be assessed using heart rate variability, says Watson. Sleep involves interplay of control by the body’s fight-or-flight (sympathetic) and resting (parasympathetic) nervous systems. And the role of each varies with sleep stage. This interplay also affects heart-rate variability. “It makes sense from those perspectives,” Watson says. “The only obvious concern is, you have to prove it.”</p> <p>Fitbit’s Heneghan says that the company has done that. Fitbit did two years of research and development on Sleep Stages. It recorded people sleeping for hundreds of nights outfitted with both Fitbit’s heart-rate sensor and sleep-lab gear like EEGs and devices that measure blood oxygen levels, muscle activity, and heart rate. Fitbit used machine learning technology to distinguish patterns in heart-rate variability (HRV) from the sensor that correspond to changes in sleep stage as measured by the full suite of sleep lab devices.</p> </div> <div> <p>This is familiar territory for Heneghan, who cofounded a company, BiancaMed, that measures respiration rate to monitor sleep. Stanford professor Allison Siebern, who consulted with Fitbit, has used optical heart rate sensors in her research.</p> <p>Sleep Stages is based on the variability of heart rate: how steady it is over time. Heneghan sketched out a rough example for someone with an average resting heart rate of 60 beats per minute. “In deep sleep, you’re maybe going to see plus/minus four beats-per-minute variation over a few minutes, so it’s really pretty regular,” he says. “When a person is in dreaming or REM sleep, I’d expect to see much more like plus/minus 10 or 15 beats per minute.”</p> <p>Espie isn’t fully convinced about the value of measuring heart rate and heart-rate variability. “There is some evidence in the literature that this may be done scientifically,” he says. “But it’s not a well-developed procedure, it’s not a substitute for measuring [in a sleep lab].” (Fitbit doesn’t claim that Sleep Stages matches what a lab can do.)</p> <p>Angela McIntyre, who tracks wearable technologies at market research firm Gartner, is skeptical about how accurate a fitness band can be. Chest-strap monitors are good at measuring heart-rate variability, she says. They produce those pointy up-and-down lines seen on a hospital monitor. “The kind of data that’s being measured from your wrists—the peaks aren’t so sharp,” says McIntyre. “They’re kind of rounded, so it takes a lot of calculating to figure out where is the right peak.”</p> <p><strong>THE STAGES OF SNOOZING</strong></p> <p>Sleep is about more than quantity. A person doesn’t need just seven or eight hours of sleep, but the right mixture of sleep types. Deep Sleep (stage N3) promotes the immune system and muscle growth, for instance; and should make up 10-25 percent of sleep time. REM sleep helps memories form and should be around 20-25 of sack time.</p> <div> <p>With devices that support Sleep Stages, the updated Fitbit app will show a breakdown of the different sleep types: how they are distributed over the night, the total amount of each type, and how those totals compare to averages among people of the same age and gender. Assuming Fitbit gets the numbers right, how helpful will that information be? “Sleep staging and the amount of different stages that you get is something that’s hard for an individual to necessarily influence,” says Watson.</p> <p>Fitbit says that it will make the data it collects more useful by translating it into tailor-made Sleep Insights for each user. This feature was also not available for me to try, so I can only go on a few examples the company provided, such as:</p> </div> <div> <blockquote><p>You slept an average of 9hrs 30min this weekend, which is substantially higher than your weekday sleep duration of 5hrs 40min. That swing may be a sign that you’re not getting enough sleep during the week.</p></blockquote> <p>It’s no shocker that people who don’t get enough sleep during the workweek might be prone to binge on the weekend. The exact numbers do bring home the magnitude of the problem. However this tip–and other examples that Fitbit shared with me–don’t show how, say, a deficit of REM sleep vs. light sleep would influence the insights.</p> <p>Overall, it’s good to get people thinking more about sleep, says Watson. If they see it as a key part of health, people can make lifestyle changes to foster a healthy sleep environment. But he warns of the risk in overthinking it. “Sleep is what happens when the mind goes clear at night,” he says. “If you’re constantly trying to hack your sleep, you may ultimately be having the opposite effect.”</p> <pre>Photo: Fitbit</pre> </div> </div> </div> </div> ",
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2071title_var: "Theranos Reaches Settlement With Arizona; Will Not Operate Blood Lab For Two Years",
2072description_short: "Theranos Inc. has reached a settlement with the Arizona State Attorney General, agreeing to pay $4.65 million into a reimbursement fund that will be used to give a full refund to more than 175,000 residents who received a blood test, the Wall Street Journal reports. This is the second legal settlement the troubled blood-testing company has reached in the past ",
2073content_text: "<p>Theranos Inc. has reached a settlement with the Arizona State Attorney General, agreeing to pay $4.65 million into a reimbursement fund that will be used to give a full refund to more than 175,000 residents who received a blood test, the <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/arizona-attorney-general-reaches-settlement-with-theranos-1492538329"><em>Wall Street Journal</em></a> reports.</p> <p>This is the second legal settlement the troubled blood-testing company has reached in the past couple of days, as the <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/theranos-agrees-not-to-operate-blood-lab-for-two-years-1492472259"><em>Journal</em> also reports</a> that Theranos agreed to remain out of the blood-testing industry for two years in exchange for reduced penalties from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.</p> <p>In its agreement with the Arizona State Attorney General, Theranos will also pay a $200,000 civil penalty and $25,000 in state legal fees, without admitting wrongdoing, according to the <em>Journal</em>. Theranos said in a statement that it will reimburse all Arizona residents &#8220;regardless of whether Theranos received payment for the tests, or whether the test results were voided or corrected.&#8221;</p> <p>&#8220;Theranos said that including all consumers who had tests over that time period demonstrated the company’s commitment to resolving the issue amicably on behalf of Arizonans and working collaboratively with state officials,&#8221; the company said in a statement. &#8220;With the agreement, both parties intend to resolve all existing or potential claims against Theranos, which settled the matter without any admission of liability.&#8221;</p> <p>Per its agreement with the Centers for Medicare &amp; Medicaid Services, Theranos notes in a statement that the CMS withdrew &#8220;the revocation of the company’s CLIA operating certificates,&#8221; while reducing the civil monetary penalty against the blood-testing company to $30,000.</p> <p>&#8220;Theranos exited the clinical lab and retail business last year, and is focusing on its miniaturized, automated testing platforms and related chemistries,&#8221; the company said in its statement. &#8220;The Company looks forward to working with regulatory authorities to secure approval for these innovative technologies.&#8221;</p> <p>Theranos still has other lawsuits pending, including <a href="http://www.nexchange.com/article/12166">a $140-million suit</a> filed by Walgreens in a Delaware court.</p> <pre>Photo: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/fortuneglobalforum/22110673483/">Fortune Global Forum</a></pre> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> ",
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2100title_var: "Manulife Hires Asset Management Chief in Japan",
2101description_short: "The asset management arm of Canadian insurer Manulife has appointed Shinichi Yamamoto as president and chief executive of its Japanese entity. He succeeds Yoshihide Nagata, who has retired. Yamamoto joins from Pimco, where he was co-chief executive of the US firm's Japanese subsidiary. “Since the integration of our wealth and asset management businesses in Japan last year, we have been ",
2102content_text: "<p>The asset management arm of Canadian insurer Manulife has appointed Shinichi Yamamoto as president and chief executive of its Japanese entity. He succeeds Yoshihide Nagata, who has retired.</p> <p>Yamamoto joins from Pimco, where he was co-chief executive of the US firm&#8217;s Japanese subsidiary.</p> <p>“Since the integration of our wealth and asset management businesses in Japan last year, we have been working vigorously on broadening our wholesale retail distribution channels, and deepening our partnership approach with our institutional clients here,” said Michael Dommermuth, executive vice president and head of wealth and asset management for Asia, Manulife.</p> <p>In his new role at Manulife Asset Management Japan, Yamamoto will report to Dommermuth and to Gavin Robinson, president and chief executive of Manulife Japan.</p> <p>At the end of last year, Manulife Asset Management had $343 billion under management.</p> <p><strong>©2017 funds global asia</strong></p> <p><em>This article was originally published in <a href="http://www.fundsglobalasia.com/news/manulife-hires-asset-management-chief-in-japan">Funds Global Asia</a>.</em></p> <pre>Photo: <a href="http://www.flazingo.com/">Flazingo Photos</a></pre> ",
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2129title_var: "A House Divided",
2130description_short: "ROADMAP In the world: A recap of world events, including an update on global growth trends, major political developments and changes to policies that drive financial markets. In the markets: A quick review of performance by asset class, including global equities, commodities, currencies, and both developed and emerging market bonds. Outlook: The latest update to PIMCO’s outlook for global growth, ",
2131content_text: "<p><a href="https://www.advisorperspectives.com/"><img class="size-medium wp-image-14866 alignleft" src="http://cdn2.nexchange.com/wp-cdn-img/wp-content/uploads/AD_Pers_LOGO21-300x54.gif" alt="AD_Pers_LOGO2" width="300" height="54" /></a></p> <p><strong>ROADMAP</strong></p> <ul> <li><strong>In the world:</strong> A recap of world events, including an update on global growth trends, major political developments and changes to policies that drive financial markets.</li> <li><strong>In the markets:</strong> A quick review of performance by asset class, including global equities, commodities, currencies, and both developed and emerging market bonds.</li> <li><strong>Outlook:</strong> The latest update to PIMCO’s outlook for global growth, including where we are most optimistic and the risks we are watching on the cyclical horizon.</li> <li><strong>In sight:</strong> A close look at a significant development over the past month and our take on its implications for investors.</li> </ul> <p><strong>Divisions in the U.S. House of Representatives signaled some deterioration in the political scene in Washington, while Brussels found firmer footing.</strong> In the U.S., highly anticipated agenda items were put in question by the cancelation of a healthcare vote, while Europe’s lurch toward populism stalled in Dutch elections.</p> <p><strong>Economic data indicated positive growth momentum globally.</strong>Fundamental data including Purchasing Managers’ Indices (PMIs) in the U.S., Europe and emerging markets all indicated steady global growth. In the U.S., both growth and inflation trends gave the Fed an opportunity to continue on its path to policy normalization.</p> <p><strong>International markets outperformed as the post-election rally in the U.S. paused.</strong> Equity markets globally advanced while U.S. markets lost some steam. Of note, U.S. rates were largely unchanged despite the Fed’s rate hike.</p> <p><em>Read more at <a href="https://www.advisorperspectives.com/commentaries/2017/04/18/a-house-divided-1">Advisor Perspectives</a>.</em></p> <pre>Photo: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/22711505@N05/8395638677/">Ron Cogswell</a></pre> <p>&nbsp;</p> ",
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2158title_var: "Goldman's Earnings Were the Most Disappointing Ever for Investors",
2159description_short: "Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s stock plunged Tuesday, after the banker shocked investors with its most disappointing quarterly results since it went public 18 years ago. Read more at MarketWatch. Photo: Fortune Live Media",
2160content_text: "<p><a href="http://www.marketwatch.com/?mod=nexchange"><img class="size-medium wp-image-7204 alignleft" src="http://cdn2.nexchange.com/wp-cdn-img/wp-content/uploads/MarketWatch_Main1-300x57.png" alt="MarketWatch_Main[1]" width="300" height="57" srcset="https://wp.nexchange.com/wp-content/uploads/MarketWatch_Main1-300x57.png 300w, https://wp.nexchange.com/wp-content/uploads/MarketWatch_Main1.png 800w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a></p> <p>Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s stock plunged Tuesday, after the banker shocked investors with its most disappointing quarterly results since it went public 18 years ago.</p> <p><em>Read more at <a href="http://www.marketwatch.com/story/goldmans-earnings-were-the-most-disappointing-ever-for-investors-2017-04-18?mod=nexchange">MarketWatch</a>.</em></p> <pre>Photo: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/fortunelivemedia/8047799028/">Fortune Live Media</a></pre> ",
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2187title_var: "Hollywood Talent Agency CAA Forms Venture With Chinese Fund",
2188description_short: "Deal with CMC Capital Partners helps ‘supercharge’ efforts in a nation likely to become the world’s top movie market A Beijing-based investment fund is buying a small stake in Creative Artists Agency and creating a joint venture designed to help one of Hollywood’s biggest talent agencies expand its presence in China. CAA China, the partnership with CMC Capital Partners, is ",
2189content_text: "<p><a href="http://www.wsj.com/asia?mod=nexchange"><img class="size-medium wp-image-7202 alignleft" src="http://cdn2.nexchange.com/wp-cdn-img/wp-content/uploads/WSJ_Main1-300x77.png" alt="WSJ_Main[1]" width="300" height="77" srcset="https://wp.nexchange.com/wp-content/uploads/WSJ_Main1-300x77.png 300w, https://wp.nexchange.com/wp-content/uploads/WSJ_Main1.png 800w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a></p> <h4 class="sub-head">Deal with CMC Capital Partners helps ‘supercharge’ efforts in a nation likely to become the world’s top movie market</h4> <p>A Beijing-based investment fund is buying a small stake in Creative Artists Agency and creating a joint venture designed to help one of Hollywood’s biggest talent agencies expand its presence in China.</p> <p>CAA China, the partnership with CMC Capital Partners, is intended to “supercharge” the agency’s efforts in the nation, where it has done business since 2005, said CAA President Richard Lovett. CMC’s chairman, Li Ruigang, will join the agency’s board of directors.</p> <p>Terms were not disclosed.</p> <p>Backed by its majority stakeholder, TPG, CAA has expanded in recent years beyond representing film and television clients like Julia Roberts and Steven Spielberg to divisions that include digital media, sports and marketing.</p> <p>China’s growing middle class—and expectations that it will surpass the U.S. as the world’s biggest movie market by 2020—have driven the Hollywood agencies’ arms race to China. CAA’s biggest rival, WME-IMG, last year announced a joint venture that included investors Sequoia Capital China and Chinese internet company <a href="http://quotes.wsj.com/TCEHY">Tencent Holdings</a> <span class="company-name-type"> Ltd.</span> that expanded its presence there. <a class="icon none" href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/top-talent-agency-hangs-shingle-in-china-1481670001">Other agencies have established divisions</a> that represent Chinese stars.</p> <p>Since opening its Beijing office, CAA has worked on more than 75 Chinese-language projects, and the agency represents local talent that includes Zhang Yimou, director of “The Great Wall,” and the actor Donnie Yen, who had a prominent role in “Rogue One.”</p> <p>CAA will look in China for deals across entertainment, including the nation’s booming sports business, as well as hunt for possible deals of its own, said Mr. Lovett. “We’re looking for acquisition opportunities,” he said.</p> <p>CMC is already a major player in Chinese media and entertainment. The state-backed investment fund’s portfolio includes holdings in sports, digital media and entertainment, including a <a class="icon none" href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/warner-bros-in-talks-to-make-movies-in-china-1440475260">joint venture with Time Warner Inc.’s Warner Bros.</a> to produce local-language films.</p> <p>CAA’s deal comes as China’s box-office growth has slowed in the past year, and Chinese investors interested in striking Hollywood deals have found it difficult to get funds out of the country.</p> <p>“Although there are some difficulties, in the long run, I think China will still play a very significant role in global entertainment,” said Mr. Li.</p> <p><em>This article was originally published in <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/hollywood-talent-agency-caa-forms-venture-with-chinese-fund-1492468348?mod=nexchange">The Wall Street Journal</a>.</em></p> <pre>Photo: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jimwinstead/376279402/">Jim Winstead</a></pre> ",
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2216title_var: "Vanguard Calls for Tweaks to the 'Fiduciary Rule'",
2217description_short: "Vanguard, the asset management giant that stands to benefit mightily from the Labor Department’s “Fiduciary Rule,” has called for some changes to be made to the legislation. Read more at MarketWatch. Photo: Robert Couse-Baker",
2218content_text: "<p><a href="http://www.marketwatch.com/?mod=nexchange"><img class="size-medium wp-image-7204 alignleft" src="http://cdn2.nexchange.com/wp-cdn-img/wp-content/uploads/MarketWatch_Main1-300x57.png" alt="MarketWatch_Main[1]" width="300" height="57" srcset="https://wp.nexchange.com/wp-content/uploads/MarketWatch_Main1-300x57.png 300w, https://wp.nexchange.com/wp-content/uploads/MarketWatch_Main1.png 800w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a></p> <p>Vanguard, the asset management giant that stands to benefit mightily from the Labor Department’s “Fiduciary Rule,” has called for some changes to be made to the legislation.</p> <p><em>Read more at <a href="http://www.marketwatch.com/story/vanguard-calls-for-tweaks-to-the-fiduciary-rule-2017-04-18?mod=nexchange">MarketWatch</a>.</em></p> <pre>Photo: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/29233640@N07/14859431605/">Robert Couse-Baker</a></pre> ",
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2245title_var: "Credit Suisse's Focus Is Asia's Entrepreneurs",
2246description_short: "The bank’s Francesco de Ferrari says merging investment and private banking pays off for Asia’s wealthy. Entrepreneurs are too busy running their businesses to think about managing their wealth, but Credit Suisse is well positioned to help business owners do both since it merged its investment bank and private bank into one unit in Asia. The strategy is a linchpin ",
2247content_text: "<p><a href="http://online.barrons.com/asia?mod=nexchange"><img class="size-medium wp-image-7206 alignleft" src="http://cdn2.nexchange.com/wp-cdn-img/wp-content/uploads/Barrons_Main1-300x74.png" alt="Barrons_Main[1]" width="300" height="74" srcset="https://wp.nexchange.com/wp-content/uploads/Barrons_Main1-300x74.png 300w, https://wp.nexchange.com/wp-content/uploads/Barrons_Main1.png 420w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a></p> <h4 class="subHed deck">The bank’s Francesco de Ferrari says merging investment and private banking pays off for Asia’s wealthy.</h4> <p>Entrepreneurs are too busy running their businesses to think about managing their wealth, but <a class="t-company" href="http://quotes.barrons.com/CS">Credit Suisse</a> is well positioned to help business owners do both since it merged its investment bank and private bank into one unit in Asia. The strategy is a linchpin to Credit Suisse’s future, but it also creates some interesting opportunities for the region’s rich.</p> <p>Consider that Credit Suisse can approve a large loan in Asia instead of waiting for a credit risk analysis out of Zurich. Now the head office is in Asia, staffed with bankers who know the region, its risks, and who “often know the clients personally,” says Francesco de Ferrari, Credit Suisse’s head of private banking Asia Pacific. Credit Suisse’s lending in Asia rose about 12% last year, while its assets under management rose slightly more to about CHF169 billion ($169 billion).</p> <p>“Our approach generally is, tell us your problems and what is worrying you, and let us help you find solutions,” says de Ferrari, <a class="icon none" href="http://www.barrons.com/articles/francesco-de-ferrari-revs-up-1413188739" target="_blank">who has headed Credit Suisse private banking in Asia</a> since 2012.</p> <p>The Swiss-based bank launched <a class="icon none" href="http://www.barrons.com/articles/credit-suisse-shares-could-gain-13-1483767183" target="_blank">a major global restructuring</a> in late 2015 amid rising regulations and tighter capital restrictions. The shakeup led to an emphasis on wealth management and on Asia Pacific, specifically on its entrepreneurs, because Asia, unlike most places in the world, continues to promise strong growth. It’s a gamble de Ferrari believes makes sense given that 80% of Asia’s economic development is driven by family-run businesses. “That’s the sweet spot of the Asia opportunity,” he says.</p> <p>To grab growth in a competitive market, Credit Suisse boosted its number of relationship managers in Asia to 640 from 580 as of the end of last year. And it turned itself into a one-stop banking hub for business owners. While all private banks connected with larger institutions aim to gain clients from their investment or commercial bank arms (and vice versa), Credit Suisse’s single-bank approach goes a step further by combining both investment banking and private banking into one profit center. That means relationship managers can look out for the total banking needs of their entrepreneurial clients, whether they are facilitating an IPO or finding a good investment in a private equity fund.</p> <p>Both sides of the bank are “going from being good at collaborating to building businesses together,” de Ferrari says.</p> <p>It’s an approach that allows the private bank to begin working with business owners before they even begin to think about how they intend to transfer wealth to their children. About 60% of Credit Suisse’s assets under management in Asia are held by ultra-wealthy clients, those with $50 million or more, but the bank views the remaining 40% as “core” clients, many of whom the bank expects will grow their wealth.</p> <p>One way Credit Suisse is combining efforts is via a new centralized Asia Pacific financing group charged with customizing solutions for the ultra-wealthy, entrepreneurs and corporations, including financing and hedging. The unit combines all the financing businesses that previously sat in different parts of the bank.</p> <p>Recently, the unit created a $500 million loan for a long-standing private-bank client who wanted to boost his stake in one of his listed holdings. In another instance, the bank helped an ultra-wealthy owner refinance a syndicated loan for his holding company by securing the facility against privately held shares in the company’s operating units.</p> <p><strong>Another way Credit Suisse benefits the ultra-rich is by bringing clients closer to deals flowing from the investment bank.</strong> Last year, both sides of the bank worked closely together to create and market $510 million in fixed income notes sold by a subsidiary of Temasek Holdings, a Singaporean state-owned company. The notes were backed by cash flows from 34 private equity funds managed by brand-name general partners like <a class="t-company" href="http://quotes.barrons.com/KKR">KKR</a> and TPG. Credit Suisse’s private bank was able to snag the large share of the bonds, which carried interest rates ranging from 3.9% to 9.25%.</p> <p>The “one bank” strategy is also making it easier for Credit Suisse to reach Asia’s wealthy in domestic onshore markets from Australia, to India and Japan. Credit Suisse set up a new wealth management team in Thailand last year, where the bank says 66% of all listed companies with $50 million in assets or more are family-owned businesses. Private bankers are now staffed within the bank’s 16-year-old Thai equity brokerage business, a cost-sharing strategy that it couldn’t have accomplished when investment banking and private banking were separate divisions, says de Ferrari, who as of November 2015 is also CEO of Southeast Asia. Together, the new arrangement gives Thai’s business-focused ultra-wealthy access to Credit Suisse’s global reach via bankers in their own backyard.</p> <p>Despite the fact several global banks have left Asia, de Ferrari views Credit Suisse as being in a good position to work with the newest generation of Asian entrepreneurs, many of them educated in the west and as entrepreneurial in spirit as their parents’ generation. “The second or third generation in Asia, is just as hungry if not more hungry than the first,” de Ferrari says. They’ve come back to Asia, he adds, “because this is where the business opportunity is.”</p> <p><em>This article was originally published in <a href="http://www.barrons.com/articles/credit-suisses-focus-is-asias-entrepreneurs-1492049236?mod=nexchange">Barron&#8217;s</a>.</em></p> <pre>Photo:<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/eflon/15528828288/"> eflon</a></pre> ",
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2274title_var: "ValueAct Returning $1.25 Billion to Investors Makes Sense in Trumped up Market",
2275description_short: "When it was discovered ValueAct Capital returned $1.25 billion in investor assets last week, or nearly 8% of its asset base, it came as a shock. But reading between the lines of the April 3 letter to investors reviewed by ValueWalk and piecing together the market panoply, the move seems restlessly prudent amid what Federal Reserve commentators said were “quite ",
2276content_text: "<p><a href="http://www.valuewalk.com/"><img class="size-medium wp-image-15670 alignleft" src="http://cdn2.nexchange.com/wp-cdn-img/wp-content/uploads/rsz_valuewalk_medium_logo-300x155.jpg" alt="rsz_valuewalk_medium_logo" width="300" height="155" srcset="https://wp.nexchange.com/wp-content/uploads/rsz_valuewalk_medium_logo-300x155.jpg 300w, https://wp.nexchange.com/wp-content/uploads/rsz_valuewalk_medium_logo-825x430.jpg 825w, https://wp.nexchange.com/wp-content/uploads/rsz_valuewalk_medium_logo.jpg 833w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a></p> <p>When it was discovered ValueAct Capital returned $1.25 billion in investor assets last week, or nearly 8% of its asset base, it came as a shock. But reading between the lines of the April 3 letter to investors reviewed by ValueWalk and piecing together the market <a href="http://www.valuewalk.com/2014/05/jeff-ubben-icahn-loeb-ackman/">panoply</a>, the move seems restlessly prudent amid what Federal Reserve commentators said were “quite high” market valuations.</p> <p><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-1355718" src="http://www.valuewalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/ValueAct-Capital.jpg" sizes="(max-width: 350px) 100vw, 350px" srcset="http://www.valuewalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/ValueAct-Capital.jpg 350w, http://www.valuewalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/ValueAct-Capital-150x150.jpg 150w, http://www.valuewalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/ValueAct-Capital-300x300.jpg 300w, http://www.valuewalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/ValueAct-Capital-55x55.jpg 55w" alt="ValueAct Capital" width="350" height="350" /></p> <h4>ValueAct recognizes stocks are priced on a relative basis to other investments</h4> <p>It is not just that the stock market is trading at a median multiple of 18 times earnings that matters – a key point mentioned in the ValueAct letter — but the historical ramifications.  The hedge fund has <a href="http://www.valuewalk.com/2017/02/jeff-ubben-reuters-summit-valuations-extreme-audio/">questioned </a>such valuations in the past. The price-earnings ratio of the S&amp;P 500 hasn’t traded much above 20 many times since the Great Depression, and when it has, that ratio has a history of dropping along with the value of the stock market.</p> <p>What matters to ValueAct co-founder and CIO Jeffery Ubben is what underpins the current <a href="http://www.valuewalk.com/2017/03/overvaluation-sticky-investor-emotions-sticky/">high valuations</a>. It is here that he is “skeptical.”</p> <p>The only way investing in the stock market at this point can be justified is if the cyclicality of high corporate profit margins persists. The current market price is baking into their assumptions that a lower corporate tax rate is coming and the risk-free rate of return, defined by historically low-interest rates, remains in place.</p> <h4>Taking apart the thesis justifying high stock market valuations</h4> <p>With the on-again, off-again game of legislative roulette being played in Washington DC – the latest is that a second try at passing health care reform is now coming before tax reform – is causing investors to <a href="http://www.valuewalk.com/2016/10/profits-recession/">scratch their heads</a> on any assumption of tax relief benefiting investors in the near term.</p> <p>That “risk-free” rate of return is based on US bond yields. With the Fed set to raise interest rates two if not three times in 2017, the yield on sovereign bonds goes higher and competes with much riskier stocks for investors. As bond yields start to climb out of the negative real rate gutter, an old inverse correlation might come into play. As the risk-free rate of return rises, stock prices have, at certain points in history, exhibited an inverse correlation.</p> <p>In ValueAct’s investor letter, Ubben says he is seeking to “truly think long term” and “flex the fund to the opportunity set in the market,” which seems a little exhausted at present. With enough dry powder on the sidelines at present – cash levels are near 10% and more cash will be entering the portfolio when the Baker Hughes merger with General Electric’s oil and gas division concludes – returning assets to investors “is consistent with a business strategy” the near $16 billion fund started over a decade ago. Investors are best served by a fund manager only servicing the assets to which they can safely find a home. In today’s over-valued and <a href="http://www.valuewalk.com/2017/01/4-reasons-trump-rally-no-legs/">trumped up </a>stock market, that is increasingly difficult.</p> <p><em>This article was originally published in <a href="http://www.valuewalk.com/2017/04/valueact-returning-1-25-billion-to-investors-makes-sense-in-trumped-up-market/">ValueWalk</a>.</em></p> <pre>Photo: <a href="http://www.vpsi.org/">Allan Ajifo</a></pre> ",
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2303title_var: "Data Deluge Hints at Economic Transition",
2304description_short: "Over the past week, PBOC (the People’s Bank of China) and the country’s NBS (National Bureau of Statistics) issued a slew of data hinting at easing economic volatility. The headline figure was GDP growth of 6.9 percent for the first quarter of 2017, better than expected. This, combined with less reliance on mortgages for credit growth, suggest concerns about capital ",
2305content_text: "<p>Over the past week, PBOC (the People’s Bank of China) and the country’s NBS (National Bureau of Statistics) issued a slew of data hinting at easing economic volatility.</p> <p>The headline figure was GDP growth of 6.9 percent for the first quarter of 2017, better than expected. This, combined with less reliance on mortgages for credit growth, suggest concerns about capital market volatility are easing.</p> <p>According to PBOC, mortgages as a proportion of total new lending declined by 4.5 percentage points in the first quarter this year to 40.4 percent.</p> <p>Meanwhile, NBS data showed CPI (consumer price inflation) declined by 0.3 percent in March, although on a year-on-year basis it edged up to 0.9 percent.</p> <p>There was a substantial, 4.4 percent year-on-year drop in food prices; although non-food prices were up 2.3 percent.</p> <p>In a further sign of easing volatility, PPI (producer price inflation) slowed to 7.6 percent from 7.8 percent in February, although the figure remains elevated.</p> <p>That the economy is perhaps becoming less frothy, however, was evidenced by a deceleration in M2 money supply growth to 10.6 percent versus 13.4 percent in the first quarter of 2016.</p> <p>Authorities have moved to more targeted monetary policy tools, including PBOC’s medium-term lending facility. According to Bloomberg figures, this has surged to RMB4.1 trillion, with well over RMB500 billion coming due over the last three quarters of the year.</p> <p>On Thursday (13 April), PBOC demonstrated its flexibility by resuming open market operations after 13 straight days on the sidelines, during which it allowed RMB490 billion to drain from the market.</p> <p>However, Ming Ming, a former PBOC monetary policy official and head of fixed-income research at Citic Securities in Beijing, suggested a lack of collateral could hinder these efforts.</p> <p>“Collateral pressures will rise,” he wrote in a report. “The central bank will be restricted if it wants to increase open-market operations and MLF. Expanding the list of qualified collateral is fundamental, and local government debt may be an option.”</p> <p>Meanwhile, Wang Chuan of the National Academy of Economic Strategy, suggested PBOC should expand its toolkit for short-term liquidity management and prioritise price stabilisation and economic restructuring.</p> <p><em>This article was originally published in <a href="http://www.rmbweek.com/content/data-deluge-hints-economic-transition">RMB Week</a>.</em></p> <pre>Photo: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/maxbraun/2442105739/">Max Braun</a></pre> ",
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2332title_var: "Video: Why Getting Startups and Incumbents Together Is a Win-Win Situation for Everybody",
2333description_short: "Dr. Toa Charm, Cyberport’s Chief Public Mission Officer, talks to NexChange’s Andrew Work about Cyberport’s public mission and why bringing startups and incumbents together is good for everybody. Citi HK FinTech Challenge Press Conference : Dr Toa Charm, Chief Public Mission Officer, Cyberport from NexChange on Vimeo.",
2334content_text: "<p>Dr. Toa Charm, Cyberport’s Chief Public Mission Officer, talks to NexChange’s Andrew Work about Cyberport’s public mission and why bringing startups and incumbents together is good for everybody.</p> <p><div class="video-container"><iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/210874552" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></div></p> <p><a href="https://vimeo.com/210874552">Citi HK FinTech Challenge Press Conference : Dr Toa Charm, Chief Public Mission Officer, Cyberport</a> from <a href="https://vimeo.com/user38333529">NexChange</a> on <a href="https://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p> ",
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2361title_var: "Morgan Stanley's Impressive Q1 Bolsters Confidence, But Volatility Remains High",
2362description_short: "A blowout quarter from Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) appears to be soothing investors still reeling after yesterday’s surprise miss by Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE: GS). Futures trading indicated a possible higher open, but keep an eye out for more intraday volatility. MS, the last of the big banks to report, crushed Wall Street analysts’ Q1 estimates, with sales and ",
2363content_text: "<p><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-15531" src="http://cdn2.nexchange.com/wp-cdn-img/wp-content/uploads/rsz_benzinga_main-300x169.png" alt="rsz_benzinga_main" width="300" height="169" srcset="https://wp.nexchange.com/wp-content/uploads/rsz_benzinga_main-300x169.png 300w, https://wp.nexchange.com/wp-content/uploads/rsz_benzinga_main.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></p> <p>A blowout quarter from <strong>Morgan Stanley</strong> (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/ms#NYSE">MS</a>) appears to be soothing investors still reeling after yesterday’s surprise miss by<strong> Goldman Sachs Group Inc</strong> (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/gs#NYSE">GS</a>). Futures trading indicated a possible higher open, but keep an eye out for more intraday volatility.</p> <p>MS, the last of the big banks to report, crushed Wall Street analysts’ Q1 estimates, with sales and trading revenue beating expectations.</p> <p>Keep in mind that the GS results represented just one quarter. For the most part, big bank earnings have been pretty healthy, and financials are among the best barometers of the overall market. Also worth noting is that while it’s still early in earnings season, just over 75% of reporting companies have beaten Wall Street analysts’ expectations. Only around 10% of companies have reported, but earnings are off to a good start.</p> <p>Part of the problem for GS might have been the low-volatility environment that dominated in Q1. Low volatility, particularly in the dollar-euro trade and crude oil, might have hurt GS more than other banks because of the company’s oversize interest in those areas compared to its peers.</p> <p>Volatility seems to be picking up, which could help trading volume at GS and other banks as well. Though the VIX did fall back under 14 early Wednesday, it’s possible that international issues like the French election (see below) and North Korea could play into more of the intraday volatility we’ve been seeing.</p> <p>The market is in a volatile stretch, going up one day, falling the next, and in thin volume. Earnings remain a key driver, but there’s not much other data to trade on. That means geopolitical developments can sometimes get over-played &#8230;</p> <p><a href="https://www.benzinga.com/analyst-ratings/analyst-color/17/04/9318133/morgan-stanleys-impressive-q1-bolsters-confidence-but-vo?utm_source=feedburner&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_campaign=Feed%3A+benzinga%2Ftech+%28Channels+-+Tech%29">Read more at Benzinga</a>.</p> ",
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2390title_var: "You Might Be Genetically Predisposed to Procrastination",
2391description_short: "If you like to put things off or surf the internet instead of getting work done, you might be able to blame your ancestors. Procrastination and laziness are based in our genetics, and you can be predisposed to both, says Sharad Paul, MD, author of The Genetics Of Health: Understand Your Genes for Better Health. While procrastination seems like a ",
2392content_text: "<p><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-25488" src="http://cdn2.nexchange.com/wp-cdn-img/wp-content/uploads/FastCompany_16_9-300x169.png" alt="FastCompany_16_9" width="300" height="169" srcset="https://wp.nexchange.com/wp-content/uploads/FastCompany_16_9-300x169.png 300w, https://wp.nexchange.com/wp-content/uploads/FastCompany_16_9.png 351w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></p> <div> <p>If you like to put things off or surf the internet instead of getting work done, you might be able to blame your ancestors. Procrastination and laziness are based in our genetics, and you can be predisposed to both, says Sharad Paul, MD, author of <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Genetics-Health-Understand-Genes-Better/dp/1501155415/"><em>The Genetics Of Health: Understand Your Genes for Better Health</em></a>.</p> </div> <div> <p>While procrastination seems like a character flaw, it evolved for a reason. “The genes progressed down generations because these people were still holed up in caves fearful of predators [saying], ‘My tools are not sharp enough. I better spend more time perfecting this spear,’” he says. “These people survived more because they avoided conflict, and these genes were handed down to future generations.”</p> <p>The genetics of procrastination are related to the genetics of impulsivity. <a href="http://calnewport.com/">Cal Newport</a>, author of <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Deep-Work-Focused-Success-Distracted-ebook/dp/B00X47ZVXM/"><em>Deep Work</em></a> and assistant professor of computer science at Georgetown University, says one of the reasons we procrastinate is because our brain isn’t buying into our plans. “If we stop and think about this, it makes complete sense,” says Paul. “We can identify with those times we had a business plan that we had written up in great detail, but were delaying doing something about. If we were to be honest about it, either we were not ready or hadn’t thought it through well enough. In Newport’s words, ‘You shouldn’t lament procrastination, but instead listen to it.’”</p> <p>While procrastinators are delayers, lazy people are sloths, says Paul. <a href="http://www.bionews.org.uk/page_399230.asp">Research</a> from the Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology in Beijing and the University of Aberdeen identified a genetic mutation called SLC35D3 that produces a protein that interferes with the brain’s dopamine system, which triggers cells to initiate movement.</p> <div> <p>“In mice that had a faulty SLC35D3 gene, the dopamine receptors were trapped inside cells; therefore, these mice became couch potatoes,” says Paul.</p> <h4>DO YOU HAVE THE GENES?</h4> <p>If you want to know for sure that you have sluggish or procrastination genes, Paul has developed a <a href="https://www.drsharadpaul.com/gt21-genetic-test">DNA test</a> that can pinpoint the tendencies. “We can even predict people who are more likely to avoid exercise,” he says.</p> <p>But you probably already have a clue as to what your results might be. “I guess we know if we are procrastinators and we see others getting things done,” he says. “Having said that, nothing in life or our genes is absolute. If we work hard we can express new genes and take control of our bodies and minds.”</p> <h4>WHAT TO DO NOW</h4> <p>While it’s tempting to simply blame your parents, the buck stops with you, says Paul. “People think that genes determine their fate,” he says. “This is only true if their actions lead in that direction.”</p> </div> <div> <p>Genes are protein makers that cause different functions, says Paul, but you’re in control. “Our diets, exercise, and environment shape our genes and make them produce different proteins,” he says. “Understanding your genes is basically you directing or fine-tuning your machine–your body–for best performance.”</p> <p>In the case of those sluggish mice, <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15549097">researchers</a> from Harvard University and the University of Arizona put them on a workout routine and found the process activated new genes and increased levels of substances that promote tissue growth and health, including a protein called brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), which enhances cognitive function such as learning and memory. “The phrase ‘jogging your memory’ may indeed be more literal than we imagine,” says Paul.</p> <p>The best thing to combat procrastination or sluggishness is to get moving, says Paul. “Start slow and keep building endurance levels up,” he says. “There are many different forms of endurance exercise and many involve leg movement, for example, swimming, running, football, racquet sports, aerobics, and dancing. Pick one that you like and make sure you vary it. An average of just 30 minutes a day has been shown to be beneficial.”</p> <p>Anything can be modified or improved, including our gene expressions, says Paul, who likes to reference the 10,000-hours theory Malcolm Gladwell shares in his book <em><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Outliers-Story-Success-Malcolm-Gladwell/dp/0316017922/">The Outliers</a>,</em> suggesting that talent is made with practice and commitment, not an innate trait.</p> <p>“If you have the right genes, this could be perhaps a bit faster, but not by much,” he says. “Therefore, there is hope for us all.”</p> <pre>Photo: Getty iStock</pre> </div> </div> ",
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2419title_var: "Report: Investors Not Happy With Much-Hyped Silicon Valley Juicer",
2420description_short: "Juicero Inc., a Silicon Valley startup with a considerable amount of buzz, sells a $400 wifi-connecting machine that squeezes its own single-serving packets of chopped vegetables and fruit into a juice. There's only one problem: As Bloomberg reports, investors are learning that they can actually squeeze the Juicero bags with their own hands to make a glass of juice, without ",
2421content_text: "<p>Juicero Inc., a Silicon Valley startup with a considerable amount of buzz, sells a $400 wifi-connecting machine that squeezes its own single-serving packets of chopped vegetables and fruit into a juice.</p> <p>There&#8217;s only one problem: As <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2017-04-19/silicon-valley-s-400-juicer-may-be-feeling-the-squeeze"><em>Bloomberg</em></a> reports, investors are learning that they can actually squeeze the Juicero bags with their own hands to make a glass of juice, without needing the $400 machine. In fact, <em>Bloomberg</em> conducted its own &#8220;press test&#8221; with the Juicero bags and found that the juice could sometimes be extracted quicker by hand than with the machine.</p> <p><div class="video-container"><iframe width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/5lutHF5HhVA?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div></p> <p>Although Juicero declined to comment to Bloomberg, a &#8220;person close to the company said Juicero is aware the packs can be squeezed by hand but that most people would prefer to use the machine because the process is more consistent and less messy.&#8221;</p> <p>However, Doug Evans, the 50-year-old founder of Juicero, had promised in fundraising meetings &#8220;a revolutionary machine capable of squeezing large chunks of fruits and vegetables, said two people who agreed to invest in the company,&#8221; <em>Bloomberg</em> reports. &#8220;Evans secured funding in 2014 by showing 3D-printed renderings of the product without a working prototype, said the people, who asked not to be identified because they signed nondisclosure agreements.&#8221;</p> <blockquote><p>But after the product’s introduction last year, at least two Juicero investors were taken aback after finding the packs could be squeezed by hand. They also said the machine was much bigger than what Evans had proposed. One of the investors said they were frustrated with how the company didn’t deliver on the original pitch and that their venture firm wouldn’t have met with Evans if he were hawking bags of juice that didn’t require high-priced hardware. Juicero didn’t broadly disclose to investors or employees that packs can be hand squeezed, said four people with knowledge of the matter.</p></blockquote> <p>Evans was able to secure $125 million in funding from investors, <em>Bloomberg</em> reports, including Google&#8217;s venture capital arm.</p> <pre>Photo: Juicero Inc.'s Twitter</pre> ",
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2448title_var: "PBOC Forex Sales Decline for 2nd Month",
2449description_short: "PBOC (the People’s Bank of China) sold only RMB54.7 billion (USD7.95 billion) of foreign exchange in March, according to Reuters calculations, the smallest amount for 10 months. The reduction, the second monthly drop in a row since January’s RMB208.8 billion, signals a decline in capital outflow pressures and USD becoming relatively less attractive. SAFE (the State Administration of Foreign Exchange) ",
2450content_text: "<p>PBOC (the People’s Bank of China) sold only RMB54.7 billion (USD7.95 billion) of foreign exchange in March, according to Reuters calculations, the smallest amount for 10 months.</p> <p>The reduction, the second monthly drop in a row since January’s RMB208.8 billion, signals a decline in capital outflow pressures and USD becoming relatively less attractive.</p> <p>SAFE (the State Administration of Foreign Exchange) has said there would be more flexibility in the RMB exchange rates this year, and so far its promise has held firm.</p> <p>Prior to market open last Wednesday (12 April), PBOC set the RMB-USD mid-point at 6.8940, firmer than the previous fix of 6.8957. By Tuesday (18 April), it had set the rate at 8.8849, weaker than the previous day’s 6.8785 but still indicating more tolerance of strength/two-way movement.</p> <p><em>This article was originally published in <a href="http://www.rmbweek.com/content/pboc-forex-sales-decline-2nd-month">RMB Week</a>.</em></p> <pre>Photo:<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jasonahowie/6900430631/"> Jason Howie</a></pre> ",
2451source: "RMB Week",
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2477title_var: "64% of Asset Managers Are Boosting Their In-House Fintech, and 4 More Interesting Stats From Simmons & Simmons' New Hyperfinance Report",
2478description_short: "Fintech has been making serious inroads in banking lately, but how is it faring over on the asset management front? International law firm Simmons &amp; Simmons, together with research firm Longitude Research, recently surveyed 200 senior-level respondents from large banks and asset managers just to see how they’re adapting and surprisingly, all signs point to fintech having a bright future ",
2479content_text: "<p>Fintech has been making serious inroads in banking lately, but how is it faring over on the asset management front?</p> <p>International law firm Simmons &amp; Simmons, together with research firm Longitude Research, recently surveyed 200 senior-level respondents from large banks and asset managers just to see how they’re adapting and surprisingly, all signs point to fintech having a bright future in the asset management space.</p> <p>Here are five key numbers from their <a href="https://hyper-finance.com/">Hyperfinance report</a>:</p> <p><strong>48% </strong>&#8211; The percentage of asset managers who have implemented data analytics engines. This is higher than the 36% posted by their peers in banking.</p> <p><strong>64%</strong> &#8211; The chunk of asset managers that are likely to place new agreements with fintech partners over the next 18 months.</p> <p><strong>64%</strong> &#8211; The percentage of asset managers who are focused on building in-house fintech expertise.</p> <p><strong>50%</strong> &#8211; Of all respondents say that they are involved in “considerable” collaboration with fintech companies. This is on par with their banking counterparts.</p> <p><strong>27%</strong> &#8211; It may be ahead in other aspects, but less than a third of asset managers surveyed have acquired a fintech firm or an innovative startup in the past three years.</p> <p>Simmons &amp; Simmons will be launching <a href="https://hyper-finance.com/app/uploads/2017/04/SimmonsSimmons-Hyperfinance-Report-INT.pdf">the Hyperfinance report</a> (PDF) on April 25 at the law firm’s offices at One Pacific Place. Aside from the report, the launch also features discussions on fintech’s risks and rewards as well as its implications for compliance, security, and company culture.</p> <p>Speakers at the event include:</p> <ul> <li>Jolyon Ellwood-Russell, partner, Simmons &amp; Simmons</li> <li>Alex Medana, CEO and co-founder, FinFabrik</li> <li>Melissa Chim, consultant, Simmons &amp; Simmons</li> <li>David Rosa, co-founder, Neat Ltd.</li> <li>Ian Wood, partner, Simmons &amp; Simmons</li> </ul> <p>To register for the launch, click <a href="https://sites-simmons-simmons.vuturevx.com/29/5761/april-2017/asia---digital-innovation---ready-for-hyperfinance-(3).asp?sid=d110c9bf-f012-4ab3-a426-0ab8e76bcc9e">here</a>.</p> <pre>Photo: <a href="http://www.vpsi.org/">Allan Ajifo</a></pre> ",
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2506title_var: "Man Group Posts 10% Rise in Funds Under Management",
2507description_short: "LONDON--Man Group PLC (EMG.LN) Thursday said strong fund inflows, positive investment performance and weakening of the dollar against certain other currencies has led to a sharp rise in quarterly funds under management, or FuM. Read more at MarketWatch. Photo: Stig Nygaard",
2508content_text: "<p><a href="http://www.marketwatch.com/?mod=nexchange"><img class="size-medium wp-image-7204 alignleft" src="http://cdn2.nexchange.com/wp-cdn-img/wp-content/uploads/MarketWatch_Main1-300x57.png" alt="MarketWatch_Main[1]" width="300" height="57" srcset="https://wp.nexchange.com/wp-content/uploads/MarketWatch_Main1-300x57.png 300w, https://wp.nexchange.com/wp-content/uploads/MarketWatch_Main1.png 800w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a></p> <p>LONDON&#8211;Man Group PLC (EMG.LN) Thursday said strong fund inflows, positive investment performance and weakening of the dollar against certain other currencies has led to a sharp rise in quarterly funds under management, or FuM.</p> <p><em>Read more at <a href="http://www.marketwatch.com/story/man-group-posts-10-rise-in-funds-under-management-2017-04-20?mod=nexchange">MarketWatch</a>.</em></p> <pre>Photo: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/stignygaard/6035942305/">Stig Nygaard</a></pre> ",
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2535title_var: "Opinion: When Dumb Things Happen to Smart Investors",
2536description_short: "You are contemplating a gift to your beloved and wonder whether it should be a red rose or $10, the price of the rose. Read more at MarketWatch. Photo: Brandon Grasley",
2537content_text: "<p><a href="http://www.marketwatch.com/?mod=nexchange"><img class="size-medium wp-image-7204 alignleft" src="http://cdn2.nexchange.com/wp-cdn-img/wp-content/uploads/MarketWatch_Main1-300x57.png" alt="MarketWatch_Main[1]" width="300" height="57" srcset="https://wp.nexchange.com/wp-content/uploads/MarketWatch_Main1-300x57.png 300w, https://wp.nexchange.com/wp-content/uploads/MarketWatch_Main1.png 800w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a></p> <p>You are contemplating a gift to your beloved and wonder whether it should be a red rose or $10, the price of the rose.</p> <p><em>Read more at <a href="http://www.marketwatch.com/story/when-dumb-things-happen-to-smart-investors-2017-04-20?mod=nexchange">MarketWatch</a>.</em></p> <pre>Photo: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/brandongrasley/8227882239/">Brandon Grasley</a></pre> ",
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2564title_var: "Jeb Bush, Who Did Not Become President (Like His Brother Did), Looks to Own a Baseball Team (Like His Brother Did)",
2565description_short: "Jeb Bush (aka Jeb!) is teaming up with retired New York Yankees legend Derek Jeter to make a bid for Major League Baseball's Miami Marlins, according to the Miami Herald. As the Herald notes, Bush and Jeter were once pegged as rival bidders for the Marlins (as reported by Fox Business) and so the two have apparently decided they'd make ",
2566content_text: "<p>Jeb Bush (aka <a href="http://wac.450f.edgecastcdn.net/80450F/ksoo.com/files/2015/06/Jeb-2016-630x420.jpg">Jeb!</a>) is teaming up with retired New York Yankees legend Derek Jeter to make a bid for Major League Baseball&#8217;s Miami Marlins, according to the <a href="http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/article145507669.html"><em>Miami Herald</em></a>.</p> <p>As the <em>Herald</em> notes, Bush and Jeter were once pegged as rival bidders for the Marlins (as reported by <a href="http://www.foxbusiness.com/features/2017/04/19/bush-jeter-vs-romney-in-miami-marlins-bidding-war.html">Fox Business</a>) and so the two have apparently decided they&#8217;d make a stronger bid by joining forces. Bush, Jeter and the Marlins did not respond to the <em>Herald</em>&#8216;s interview requests.</p> <p>Bids for the Marlins were due last week, according to <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2017-04-19/quogue-capital-s-rothbaum-said-to-bid-for-mlb-s-miami-marlins"><em>Bloomberg</em></a>, and came in between $1.2 billion and $1.3 billion. Current owner Jeffrey Loria bought the baseball team in 2002 for $158 million, and <em>Forbes</em> values the team at close to $1 billion today.</p> <p><em>Bloomberg</em> reports that Quogue Capital founder Wayne P. Rothbaum is also among the final bidders for the Marlins. Per the <em>Herald</em>:</p> <blockquote><p>If Bush and Jeter bring star power to the Marlins talks, Rothbaum brings a low profile but probably deeper pockets.</p> <p>He co-founded a pharmaceutical company, Acerta Pharma, that AstraZeneca bought in a deal <a title="" href="http://www.fiercebiotech.com/financials/astrazeneca-bets-7b-on-acerta-s-potential-blockbuster-cancer-treatment" target="_blank">that could be worth up to $7 billion</a>, depending on drug approvals. In 2008, he and Quogue agreed to pay $1.3 million to the Securities and Exchange Commission over allegations Rothbaum improperly conducted “short sales” of stock at a time when investment regulations prohibited the transactions, <a title="" href="https://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2017-04-19/quogue-capital-s-rothbaum-said-to-bid-for-mlb-s-miami-marlins" target="_blank">Bloomberg reported.</a></p></blockquote> <p>Bush, the former governor of Florida and failed presidential candidate, would be following in his younger brother&#8217;s footsteps if he in fact acquires an ownership stake in the Marlins. George W. Bush, former governor of Texas and the 43rd president of the United States, once had a controlling interest in the MLB&#8217;s Texas Rangers during the 1990s.</p> <pre>Photo: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/gageskidmore/16501766359/in/photolist-r9cSe6-e4e1K4-e4dDFB-e4dBUg-e4dC68-ehmFcY-e4dAGt-e4jgzQ-e4jgLq-e4jexE-ehmED1-ehfWNK-e4jbcA-e4iWwW-e4jbZA-e4iXFu-e4iWH7-ehfWoZ-e4e1XR-e4jebY-e4jEqd-e4dBtp-e4dB6P-e4dChH-e4dCG2-e4dBFT-e4jboL-e4jDzd-e4dCun-e4e3qZ-e4e2sV-ehmFkd-deUqGq-deUc7N-dqjWTW-deUsh6-e4jDUq-7RzNv-deUxqB-e4dE5t-e4dJo2-8WXjyp-rqDF8r-ewxXnS-e4dFqa-e4dJyF-sgSMAc-rk6TnZ-sgV9bk-seCnbq">Gage Skidmore</a></pre> <div></div> ",
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2593title_var: "BlackRock's Fink Warns of Dark Days Ahead for U.S. Economy",
2594description_short: "In an interview with Bloomberg Television on Thursday, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink said that he's seeing "some warning signs that are getting darker" for the U.S. economy as uncertainty continues to pervade the markets. In the interview, Fink points to the middling growth of the U.S. economy and the continued uncertainty about whether President Trump will be able to expedite ",
2595content_text: "<p>In an interview with <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-04-19/blackrock-s-fink-sees-warning-signs-for-u-s-economy-brewing">Bloomberg Television</a> on Thursday, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink said that he&#8217;s seeing &#8220;some warning signs that are getting darker&#8221; for the U.S. economy as uncertainty continues to pervade the markets.</p> <p>In the interview, Fink points to the middling growth of the U.S. economy and the continued uncertainty about whether President Trump will be able to expedite key reforms. Fink also &#8220;mentioned a pullback in car sales and a slowdown in merger and acquisition activity as indications that uncertainty is rising.&#8221;</p> <p>Fink also pointed out to <em>Bloomberg</em> that the U.S. is the slowest economy among the G-7 nations.</p> <blockquote><p>The stock market needs validation that U.S. corporate earnings will stay strong and that the policies of President Donald Trump regarding taxes, regulation and infrastructure will advance in Congress in order to move higher, Fink said.</p> <p>&#8220;If we don’t have earnings validated in these higher P/Es we could adjust downward 5 or 10 percent from here,&#8221; Fink said. &#8220;If the administration does succeed on some of these items then the market will then reassert itself going higher.&#8221;</p></blockquote> <p>Despite the dark warning signs for the U.S. economy, Fink tells <em>Bloomberg</em> that he remains &#8220;bullish&#8221; for investors.</p> <pre>Photo: <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-04-19/blackrock-s-fink-sees-warning-signs-for-u-s-economy-brewing">World Economic Forum</a></pre> ",
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2622title_var: "Former Bridgewater Party Animal Busted for Buying 750 Grams of Ecstasy",
2623description_short: "When you land a job at the world's largest hedge fund we have to assume that you'll have a decent amount of extra spending cash on hand at all times to buy whatever you want: A sweet ride, a nice summer home, a couple of pieces of famous modern art, or maybe - if you wish to get the party ",
2624content_text: "<p>When you land a job at the world&#8217;s largest hedge fund we have to assume that you&#8217;ll have a decent amount of extra spending cash on hand at all times to buy whatever you want: A sweet ride, a nice summer home, a couple of pieces of famous modern art, or maybe &#8211; if you wish to get the party started right &#8211; several hundred pills of ecstasy.</p> <p>Enter 27-year-old former Bridgewater associate Joshua Lucas, who was busted by the Department of Homeland Security signing for packages from the U.S. mail that contained 750 grams of the party drug, according to <a href="http://dealbreaker.com/2017/04/takes-several-hundred-doses-ecstasy-day-bridgewater/"><em>Dealbreaker</em></a> (via the <a href="http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/local/article/Former-hedge-fund-employee-avoids-jail-for-11080854.php?cmpid=twitter-desktop"><em>Stamford Advocate</em></a>). Lucas plead guilty to a felony count of possession of narcotics with intent to sell, which would have been punishable by up to three years in prison, but after some sweet talking by friends and family, he was given a five-year suspended sentence and five years probation.</p> <p>Lucas will also have to surrender his Series 7 license, according to the <em>Stamford Advocate</em>.</p> <p>Authorities from the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Customs and Border Protection discovered the packages of ecstasy pills last August while they were &#8220;conducting routine processioning on the freight they were checking,&#8221; according to the <em>Advocate</em>. Homeland Security, the Postal Inspection Service and the Norwalk Police Special Services Unit then followed the packages to their destination, which happened to be Lucas&#8217; home in Norwalk, Conn.</p> <p><em>Dealbreaker</em> notes that the pound-and-a-half of ecstasy delivered to Lucas was &#8220;enough for some 4,000 generous doses.&#8221; And the <em>Advocate</em> reports that &#8220;police searched Lucas’ house and found items consistent with operating a drug factory.&#8221;</p> <blockquote><p>However, defense attorney <a href="http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/search/?action=search&amp;channel=local&amp;inlineLink=1&amp;searchindex=gsa&amp;query=%22Donald+Papcsy%22">Donald Papcsy</a> brought to the Stamford courthouse a stack of “stellar” recommendations from numerous people who know Lucas, showing he destroyed what could have been a “brilliant” career, Senior Assistant State’s Attorney <a href="http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/search/?action=search&amp;channel=local&amp;inlineLink=1&amp;searchindex=gsa&amp;query=%22Joseph+Valdes%22">Joseph Valdes</a> said.</p> <p>“This was just a stupid move. He was someone who did well in high school and in college,” Valdes said.</p> <p>Valdes said there was no indication Lucas was going to sell the drug and he believes the packages were for his private use with friends.</p> <p>After considering his history and no criminal record, Valdes said “it did not make sense” to send Lucas to prison for up to three years.</p></blockquote> <p>We&#8217;re going to have to agree with <em>Dealbreaker</em> here: It could be that &#8220;4,000 generous doses&#8221; is what it takes to make it through a career at the (alleged!) &#8220;<a href="http://www.nexchange.com/article/10791">cauldron of fear and intimidation</a>&#8221; that exists at Bridgewater Associates.</p> <pre>Photo: Nowalk Police Department</pre> ",
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2651title_var: "China Growth Uptick Raises Faith in Yuan",
2652description_short: "Better-than-expected Chinese growth in the first quarter has led some analysts to suggest the renminbi is undervalued. Official figures say the Chinese economy grew at a pace equivalent to 6.9% a year in the first quarter, an improvement over most estimates. According to Jameel Ahmad of brokerage FXTM, the growth indicates the renminbi is oversold. “I don’t believe there is ",
2653content_text: "<p>Better-than-expected Chinese growth in the first quarter has led some analysts to suggest the renminbi is undervalued.</p> <p>Official figures say the Chinese economy grew at a pace equivalent to 6.9% a year in the first quarter, an improvement over most estimates.</p> <p>According to Jameel Ahmad of brokerage FXTM, the growth indicates the renminbi is oversold.</p> <p>“I don’t believe there is any justification for a currency belonging to an economy that is growing at levels close to 7% to be valued at such historically low levels,” he said.</p> <p>Other commentators maintained a prediction of further depreciation of the Chinese currency, but at a slower pace.</p> <p>Aidan Yao, an economist at Axa Investment Managers, predicted that a dollar would be worth between 6.9 and 7.1 yuan by the end of the year, implying a relative depreciation in the Chinese currency of about 2%. His firm had previously predicted a dollar-to-yuan ratio of between 7.1 and 7.3 by the end of 2017.</p> <p><strong>©2017 funds global asia</strong></p> <p><em>This article was originally published in <a href="http://www.fundsglobalasia.com/news/china-growth-uptick-raises-faith-in-yuan">Funds Global Asia</a>.</em></p> <pre>Photo: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/davidden/2205322601/">David Dennis</a></pre> ",
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2680title_var: "PBOC Official Warns of Contagion",
2681description_short: "A deputy governor of PBOC (the People’s Bank of China) said last week the central bank will focus on preventing financial contagion amid concerns about global uncertainties, risks from foreign markets and the continued growth of illegal financing in China itself, Xinhua reported. Fan Yifei cited these three factors as a threat to financial stability, and said PBOC will look ",
2682content_text: "<p>A deputy governor of PBOC (the People’s Bank of China) said last week the central bank will <a title="focus on preventing financial contagion " href="http://www.china.org.cn/business/2017-04/13/content_40618796.htm">focus on preventing financial contagion </a> amid concerns about global uncertainties, risks from foreign markets and the continued growth of illegal financing in China itself, Xinhua reported.</p> <p>Fan Yifei cited these three factors as a threat to financial stability, and said PBOC will look at various policy tools, including its deposit insurance system, to combat them.</p> <p>Meanwhile, PBOC will continue to open-up China’s financial sector, Fan noted.</p> <p><em>This article was originally published in <a href="http://www.rmbweek.com/content/pboc-official-warns-contagion">RMB Week</a>.</em></p> <pre>Photo: <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sede_principal_del_banc_popular_China.jpg">Junjiewu99</a></pre> ",
2683source: "RMB Week",
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2709title_var: "VCs Planting Seeds in the Cannabis Industry",
2710description_short: "The startup world has seen a growing number of cannabis-related companies crop up over the past several years, a development that’s likely driven by the increasing number of US states to legalize marijuana in some capacity. The industry is ripe for technological innovation—and several companies and investors are taking advantage. gjbmiller / PixabayIn fact, after already setting a new high ",
2711content_text: "<p><a href="http://www.valuewalk.com/"><img class="size-medium wp-image-15670 alignleft" src="http://cdn2.nexchange.com/wp-cdn-img/wp-content/uploads/rsz_valuewalk_medium_logo-300x155.jpg" alt="rsz_valuewalk_medium_logo" width="300" height="155" srcset="https://wp.nexchange.com/wp-content/uploads/rsz_valuewalk_medium_logo-300x155.jpg 300w, https://wp.nexchange.com/wp-content/uploads/rsz_valuewalk_medium_logo-825x430.jpg 825w, https://wp.nexchange.com/wp-content/uploads/rsz_valuewalk_medium_logo.jpg 833w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a></p> <p>The startup world has seen a growing number of cannabis-related companies crop up over the past several years, a development that’s likely driven by the increasing number of US states to legalize marijuana in some capacity. The industry is ripe for technological innovation—and several companies and investors <a href="http://pitchbook.com/news/articles/the-green-scene-vc-adjusts-to-support-budding-cannabis-industry" rel="nofollow"><strong>are taking advantage</strong></a>.</p> <figure id="attachment_1938267" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="http://www.valuewalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/weed_1492714111.jpg"><img class="size-full wp-image-1938267" src="http://www.valuewalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/weed_1492714111.jpg" sizes="(max-width: 1280px) 100vw, 1280px" srcset="http://www.valuewalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/weed_1492714111.jpg 1280w, http://www.valuewalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/weed_1492714111-300x200.jpg 300w, http://www.valuewalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/weed_1492714111-768x512.jpg 768w, http://www.valuewalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/weed_1492714111-1024x682.jpg 1024w" alt="" width="1280" height="853" /></a><br /> <figcaption class="wp-caption-text"><a href="https://pixabay.com/users/gjbmiller/" rel="nofollow">gjbmiller</a> / Pixabay</figcaption> </figure> <p>In fact, after already setting a new high last year, VCs are on pace to make a record number of new deals in the cannabis industry during 2017. Here’s a chart showing recent venture investor activity in US-based cannabis companies:</p> <p><a href="http://www.valuewalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/cannabis-industry.bmp"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-1938246" src="http://www.valuewalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/cannabis-industry.bmp" sizes="(max-width: 933px) 100vw, 933px" srcset="http://www.valuewalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/cannabis-industry.bmp 933w, http://www.valuewalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/cannabis-industry-300x147.bmp 300w, http://www.valuewalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/cannabis-industry-768x377.bmp 768w, http://www.valuewalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/cannabis-industry-112x55.bmp 112w, http://www.valuewalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/cannabis-industry-917x450.bmp 917w, http://www.valuewalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/cannabis-industry-770x378.bmp 770w" alt="VCs Cannabis Industry" width="933" height="458" /></a></p> <div></div> <h5>Cannabis Industry</h5> <p>And which companies are driving the uptick in VC interest? Here’s a selection of three of the fastest-growing companies in the cannabis space, according to growth metrics compiled by PitchBook:</p> <p><strong>Sana Packaging</strong></p> <p>Founded last year in Boulder, CO, Sana Packaging is a maker of hemp- and waste-based packaging for the cannabis industry that’s working to prevent single-use packaging for marijuana products. CanopyBoulder, a seed-stage accelerator focused on products and services for the legal cannabis industry, is a backer of the business.</p> <p><strong>EstroHaze</strong></p> <p>New York-based EstroHaze is the provider of a multimedia platform that shares information about the marijuana industry, including business opportunities and scientific breakthroughs. The company, which was founded in 2015 by three black women—Kali Wilder, Safon Floyd and Sirita Wright—offers content that’s tailored to women of color. Like Sana Packaging, it’s received previous backing from CanopyBoulder.</p> <p><strong>Eaze</strong><br /> ?<br /> Eaze provides an on-demand medical marijuana delivery service that allows customers with a medical marijuana card to browse products available from nearby sellers and have their orders delivered within 20 minutes. With a long list of investors that includes Snoop Dogg’s Casa Verde Capital, which focuses on the cannabis industry, the Bay Area company was valued at $115 million at the end of last year.</p> <p>Check out some of our previous coverage on the marijuana industry <a href="http://pitchbook.com/news/search?media-types=AR&amp;tags=cannabis" rel="nofollow"><strong>right here</strong></a>.</p> <p><strong><em>Article by Dana Olsen, <a href="http://pitchbook.com/news/articles/vcs-planting-seeds-in-the-cannabis-industry" rel="nofollow">PitchBook</a></em></strong></p> <p><em>This article was originally published in <a href="http://www.valuewalk.com/2017/04/vcs-planting-seeds-cannabis-industry/">ValueWalk</a>.</em></p> <pre>Photo: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/vardolath/7691494420/">Carlos Garcia</a></pre> ",
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2738title_var: "Fed Fines Deutsche Bank $157 Million Over Currency, Volcker Rule Compliance",
2739description_short: "The Federal Reserve announced two enforcement actions against Deutsche Bank AG DB, +2.92% DBK, +1.99% that will require the bank to pay a combined $156.6 million in civil money penalties. Read more at MarketWatch. Photo: Gizmo23",
2740content_text: "<p><a href="http://www.marketwatch.com/?mod=nexchange"><img class="size-medium wp-image-7204 alignleft" src="http://cdn2.nexchange.com/wp-cdn-img/wp-content/uploads/MarketWatch_Main1-300x57.png" alt="MarketWatch_Main[1]" width="300" height="57" srcset="https://wp.nexchange.com/wp-content/uploads/MarketWatch_Main1-300x57.png 300w, https://wp.nexchange.com/wp-content/uploads/MarketWatch_Main1.png 800w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a></p> <p>The Federal Reserve announced two enforcement actions against Deutsche Bank AG <span class="quote up bgQuote" data-channel="/quotes/zigman/207002/composite" data-bgformat=""><a class="qt-chip trackable" href="http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/db?mod=MW_story_quote" data-fancyid="XNYSStockDB" data-track-mod="MW_story_quote">DB, <span class="bgPercentChange">+2.92%</span></a></span> <span class="quote up bgQuote" data-channel="/quotes/zigman/207036/delayed" data-bgformat=""><a class="qt-chip trackable" href="http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/dbk?countrycode=de&amp;mod=MW_story_quote" data-fancyid="XFRAStockDBK" data-track-mod="MW_story_quote">DBK, <span class="bgPercentChange">+1.99%</span></a></span> <a class="icon " href="https://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/pressreleases/enforcement20170420a.htm" target="_new">that will require the bank to pay a combined $156.6 million in civil money penalties</a>.</p> <p><em>Read more at <a href="http://www.marketwatch.com/story/fed-fines-deutsche-bank-157-million-over-currency-volcker-rule-compliance-2017-04-20?mod=nexchange">MarketWatch</a>.</em></p> <pre>Photo: <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Deutsche-Bank-7.jpg">Gizmo23</a></pre> ",
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2767title_var: "BNY Mellon Plays the Long Game in Asia",
2768description_short: "Wealth manager is growing rapidly in Asia with a holistic approach and expertise with globetrotting families. One of BNY Mellon Wealth Management’s clients in Asia is a family office with three-generations of family members. Although the family’s wealth was created through businesses in Asia, and most members are Hong Kong residents, family members also live in the U.S. and Canada. ",
2769content_text: "<p><a href="http://online.barrons.com/asia?mod=nexchange"><img class="size-medium wp-image-7206 alignleft" src="http://cdn2.nexchange.com/wp-cdn-img/wp-content/uploads/Barrons_Main1-300x74.png" alt="Barrons_Main[1]" width="300" height="74" srcset="https://wp.nexchange.com/wp-content/uploads/Barrons_Main1-300x74.png 300w, https://wp.nexchange.com/wp-content/uploads/Barrons_Main1.png 420w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a></p> <h4 class="subHed deck">Wealth manager is growing rapidly in Asia with a holistic approach and expertise with globetrotting families.</h4> <p>One of BNY Mellon Wealth Management’s clients in Asia is a family office with three-generations of family members. Although the family’s wealth was created through businesses in Asia, and most members are Hong Kong residents, family members also live in the U.S. and Canada.</p> <p>Three countries, three generations, a variety of business interests in Asia — it’s a situation that could confound the most sophisticated families, especially if children have competing needs. Yet multinational, multi-generational families are increasingly common among Asia’s wealthy as their children are educated from the U.K., to the U.S. to Australia.</p> <p>BNY Mellon’s <a class="icon none" href="http://www.barrons.com/articles/bny-mellon-expands-in-asia-1414138929" target="_blank">expertise in working with families across jurisdictions</a> has paid off in Asia, where it opened an office in October 2014. The <a class="icon none" href="http://www.barrons.com/articles/bny-mellon-wealth-management-expands-1417229027" target="_blank">U.S.-based wealth manager</a>, ranked eighth on <a class="icon none" href="http://www.barrons.com/articles/americas-top-40-wealth-management-firms-1474086678" target="_blank">Penta’s annual list of top 40 wealth managers</a> of U.S. private wealth assets in investment accounts of $5 million or more, has had clients in Asia going back to the 1950s. From that base, its Asia assets have surged 270%, says Charles Long, head of greater China, for BNY Mellon Wealth Management. Still, in Asia’s consolidating private bank landscape, the firm didn’t make the top 20 in the region as of the end of 2016, Asian Private Banker’s annual ranking shows. BNY Mellon doesn’t break out assets under management for Asia.</p> <p>Long, age 58, and based in Hong Kong, says making the top 20 list isn’t a priority, adding the typical BNY Mellon client “just isn’t focused on the rankings.” BNY Mellon will continue to focus on growing organically, as more clients — largely by word of mouth — learn of their approach to wealth management, although the firm “will also consider strategic acquisitions within the Asian region,” he says.</p> <p>While many private banks in Asia often play the role of broker, buying and selling securities, BNY Mellon takes a holistic approach, overseeing investing in the context of how each client wants to use and preserve their wealth. It’s “objective-driven investing,” Long says, meaning, “let’s look at the different needs that you have and let’s build portfolios that are going to best serve those needs.”</p> <p>The process starts by creating an investment policy statement based on a client’s risk profile, cash flow and cash needs. BNY Mellon implements the policy, but clients “know what they’re expecting us to do and we know what they’re expecting us to do,” Long says. “It’s not product driven, it is strategy driven.” BNY Mellon also has a fee-based vs. a commission-based approach, with fees ranging from 0.75% a year on the first $3 million in assets down to 0.20% on assets above $50 million.</p> <p>That all banks aren’t transparent about fees can come as a surprise, even to experienced investors. One of BNY Mellon’s ultra-high-net-worth clients recently bought $15 million in U.S. corporate bonds and U.S. Treasuries from a broker, citing a low commission. BNY Mellon’s advisors pointed out the broker hadn’t revealed the clients were paying a markup to the bond’s original value. Analyzing just one $5 million U.S. dollar-bond purchase, BNY Mellon found the client paid a markup fee of $125,000.</p> <p>“A lot of people don’t know what to look for to understand what they’re paying and how they’re paying,” Long says.</p> <p>About half of BNY Mellon’s Asia clients are local or American expats who have been shut out of institutions that don’t want to deal with the paperwork required to bank American clients. The rest are multinational, like the Hong Kong family spread across three countries.</p> <p>In that case, BNY Mellon uses a team approach to serve the needs of each family where they live, but they also coordinate and plan directly with the family office, Long says. “Using the expert team approach when working with multi-jurisdictional families like this one, we are able to make sure that each branch of the family, in each geography, is receiving BNY Mellon Wealth Management’s best thinking tailored to their unique situation,” Long says. “But we also coordinate the teams to integrate the family’s overall wealth, philanthropic and family governance objectives defined by their family office.”</p> <p>BNY Mellon’s approach works best with a full picture of a client’s wealth, which Asia’s rich tend to obscure by banking with multiple institutions. Clients may resist revealing everything, not understanding the holistic approach. But, Long says, “as they start working with us and see that we’re not trying to sell them something, that we are really trying to help the family…then very quickly they do open up.”</p> <p>There’s a market opportunity: <a class="t-company" href="http://quotes.barrons.com/CGEMY">Capgemini</a>’s 2016 <a class="icon none" href="http://www.barrons.com/articles/what-asias-rich-want-from-wealth-managers-1476328293" target="_blank">wealth report</a> found Asia’s wealthy have less than a third of assets with a wealth manager. If word keeps spreading about how BNY Mellon operates, cracking the ranks of the top 20 may be in reach.</p> <p><em>This article was originally published in <a href="http://www.barrons.com/articles/bny-mellon-plays-the-long-game-in-asia-1492651457?mod=nexchange">Barron&#8217;s</a>.</em></p> <pre>Photo: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/romainpontida/16215094838/">Romain Pontida</a></pre> ",
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2796title_var: "Vineyard Dreams: Owning One of These Elite Properties Has to Be a 'Love Affair'",
2797description_short: "Harry Robibero fell in love with winemaking as a child, working with his Italian grandfather crushing grapes in their backyard. Then, 14 years ago, he decided to give up his Yonkers, New York, contracting and excavating business and move further upstate to the Hudson Valley to buy and run a vineyard. Read more at MarketWatch. Photo: Eric Huybrechts",
2798content_text: "<p><a href="http://www.marketwatch.com/?mod=nexchange"><img class="size-medium wp-image-7204 alignleft" src="http://cdn2.nexchange.com/wp-cdn-img/wp-content/uploads/MarketWatch_Main1-300x57.png" alt="MarketWatch_Main[1]" width="300" height="57" srcset="https://wp.nexchange.com/wp-content/uploads/MarketWatch_Main1-300x57.png 300w, https://wp.nexchange.com/wp-content/uploads/MarketWatch_Main1.png 800w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a></p> <p>Harry Robibero fell in love with winemaking as a child, working with his Italian grandfather crushing grapes in their backyard. Then, 14 years ago, he decided to give up his Yonkers, New York, contracting and excavating business and move further upstate to the Hudson Valley to buy and run a vineyard.</p> <p><em>Read more at <a href="http://www.marketwatch.com/story/vineyard-dreams-owning-one-of-these-elite-properties-has-to-be-a-love-affair-2017-04-20?mod=nexchange">MarketWatch</a>.</em></p> <pre>Photo: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/15979685@N08/11269933055/">Eric Huybrechts</a></pre> ",
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2825title_var: "HK Regulator to Ask Brokers to Upgrade Cybersecurity",
2826description_short: "Hong Kong’s SFC (Securities and Futures Commission) has again warned brokers on cybersecurity, and plans to order them to upgrade their defences, the SCMP reported. A spokesman for the regulator said it will launch a consultation this quarter on ordering brokers to upgrade cybersecurity at a cost of up to HKD1 million (USD128,622) each. “We have to require all [brokers] ",
2827content_text: "<p>Hong Kong’s SFC (Securities and Futures Commission) has again warned brokers on cybersecurity, and plans to order them to upgrade their defences, the SCMP <a title="reported" href="http://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2088948/hong-kong-watchdog-tighten-cybersecurity-brokers-after-hackers">reported</a>.</p> <p>A spokesman for the regulator said it will launch a consultation this quarter on ordering brokers to upgrade cybersecurity at a cost of up to HKD1 million (USD128,622) each.</p> <p>“We have to require all [brokers] to invest more to enhance their cyber security of their computer systems after customers lost up to HK$110 million from hacker attacks. The police have been investigating these cases,” the spokesperson added.</p> <p>In late January, SFC said some brokerage websites have been hit by DDoS (distributed denial of service) attacks and blackmail, saying then that they should “take immediate actions (including seeking advice from external contracted vendors if they do not possess such expertise and/or resources in-house) to critically review and assess the effectiveness of their cybersecurity controls in place.”</p> <p>The regulator warned in a <a title="statement" href="http://www.sfc.hk/edistributionWeb/gateway/EN/circular/doc?refNo=17EC8">statement</a> that similar cybersecurity incidents could be “observed across the entire securities industry”.</p> <p>It also said brokers should configure their servers to avoid ‘reflective amplification’ DDoS, wherein small requests sent to public servers from a spoofed version of the attacked website bounce back much larger responses.</p> <p><em>This article was originally published in <a href="http://www.regulationasia.com/content/hk-regulator-ask-brokers-upgrade-cybersecurity">Regulation Asia</a>.</em></p> <pre>Photo: <a href="http://howtostartablogonline.net/tech">Blogtrepreneur</a></pre> ",
2828source: "Regulation Asia",
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2854title_var: "Lines in the Sand",
2855description_short: "In my 2016 year-end review, which went only to clients, I included a discussion of the use of subscription lines by closed-end funds in areas such as private equity, real estate, distressed debt and private credit. It’s my impression that their use has become fairly pervasive in recent years, and in response to clients’ requests and market trends, Oaktree has ",
2856content_text: "<p><a href="https://www.advisorperspectives.com/"><img class="size-medium wp-image-14866 alignleft" src="http://cdn2.nexchange.com/wp-cdn-img/wp-content/uploads/AD_Pers_LOGO21-300x54.gif" alt="AD_Pers_LOGO2" width="300" height="54" /></a></p> <p><span class="paragraph">In my 2016 year-end review, which went only to clients, I included a discussion of the use of subscription lines by closed-end funds in areas such as private equity, real estate, distressed debt and private credit. It’s my impression that their use has become fairly pervasive in recent years, and in response to clients’ requests and market trends, Oaktree has utilized subscription lines in some of its newer funds. </span></p> <p><span class="paragraph">That year-end note prompted some interesting and spirited discussion of lines and their merit and effect. Thus I decided to write this memo on the topic for general circulation.</span></p> <h4>How Do Subscription Lines Work?</h4> <p><span class="paragraph">As I wrote in the year-end review, subscription lines are bank loans extended to funds that enable them to use borrowed money, rather than LP capital, to make early investments or pay fees and expenses. While there is no universal description, I believe it’s safe to say in general that subscription lines:</span></p> <div> <ul> <li><span class="bulletList">are limited as a percentage of the LPs’ capital commitments.(Commitments from the most creditworthy LPs earn a 90% advance rate, and commitments from lesser credits earn lower advance rates or, in some cases, zero), </span></li> <li><span class="bulletList">are secured by the LPs’ capital commitments, and </span></li> <li><span class="bulletList">generally must be repaid in the early or middle part of the fund’s life (unless extended), although terms are beginning to lengthen.</span></li> </ul> </div> <p><span class="paragraph">The key element is that a subscription line can substitute for LP capital, but it can’t be used to allow the fund to invest more than its committed capital. That is, a $100 million fund with a subscription line might be able to buy $50 million of assets without calling LP capital, but it still can’t invest more than $100 million in total (other than by recycling proceeds from liquidated investments). <strong>The bottom line is that essentially all subscription line financing does is defer the calling of LP capital.</strong></span></p> <p><span class="paragraph"><strong>So the starting point for this discussion is the fact that these lines lever LP capital but do not lever funds in the sense of allowing funds to invest more than their committed capital.</strong> Fund-level debt that allows funds to invest more than their committed capital is different from subscription lines and not my subject here.</span></p> <p><em>Read more at <a href="https://www.advisorperspectives.com/commentaries/2017/04/20/lines-in-the-sand">Advisor Perspectives</a>.</em></p> <pre>Photo: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/volvob12b/19480674265/">Public Domain</a></pre> ",
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2883title_var: "Alipay and WeChat Pay, by the Numbers",
2884description_short: "Leveraging their e-commerce and social network platforms, Alibaba and Tencent – through their Alipay and WeChat Pay apps – are dominating China’s payments industry. Just how much are they crushing it, though? Here are a few numbers from the UN’s Better Than Cash Alliance report (PDF) to help put things in perspective. 60%: The percentage of non-cash retail transactions in ",
2885content_text: "<p>Leveraging their e-commerce and social network platforms, Alibaba and Tencent – through their Alipay and WeChat Pay apps – are dominating China’s payments industry.</p> <p>Just how much are they crushing it, though? Here are a few numbers from the UN’s <a href="https://btca-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/documents/284/english_attachments/ChinaReportApril2017Highlights.pdf?1492606527">Better Than Cash Alliance report</a> (PDF) to help put things in perspective.</p> <p><strong>60%</strong>: The percentage of non-cash retail transactions in China in 2015.</p> <p><strong>17%</strong>: Of all retail transactions in 2015 were made through digital payments.</p> <p><strong>$11.6 billion</strong>: The ballpark value of WeChat payments in 2012.</p> <p><strong>85</strong>: The multiple by which they increased over the past four years (it surged to $1.2 trillion last year).</p> <p><strong>$70 billion</strong>: The approximate value of Alipay payments in 2012.</p> <p><strong>$1.7 trillion</strong>: The estimated value of Alipay payments in 2016.</p> <p><strong>$300 billion</strong>: The rough value of payments made through Alipay and WeChat’s competitors.</p> <p><strong>$2.9 trillion</strong>: The value of Alipay and WeChat’s payments in 2016, combined.</p> <pre>Photo: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/andymag/10947544804/">Andy Maguire</a></pre> ",
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