LaSalle Investment Management's Encore+ Aims to "set new standards" in Sustainability

Encore+ will work with Accumulata Real Estate Group to build a seven-floor hybrid timber office block, in Munich's Westend district, on a site acquired in 2019, on Elsenheimerstrasse. It will include an environmentally friendly building management system. Key players include David Ironside at Encore+ and Daniel Manta, project manager at Accumulata.

Bharti Global and UK Government Take Control of OneWeb Satellite Company

The formerly bankrupt OneWeb satellite company is now owned principally by Bharti Global and the UK government. $1bn of new equity has been injected into the company.  

Neil Masterson, formerly co-COO of Thomson Reuters, where he spent 20 years, is the new CEO, and returns from New York to London for this role.

UBS Starts New Fintech Fund - Invokes Anthemis as Chief Investment Assistant Officer

On 27 October 2020, UBS announced its new fintech fund, UBS Next, which will be tasked with investing $200m in early stage startups. It will play to internal modernisation efforts within UBS.

Sabine Keller-Busse, who joined UBS in 2010 and is now UBS Group COO, is an Ex-McKinsey Partner and alumna of the University of St Gallen. She stated that the move will keep UBS at the "forefront of the digital movement".

Mike Dargan, Group Head of Technology for UBS, also added supporting words.

UBS Next will utilize a partnership with Anthemis to help identify up-and-coming fintech startups and boost deal flow. 

Sean Park, a co-founder (and Chief Investment Officer) of Anthemis, with a passion for skiing, was a founding investor in Betfair (now integrated from a corporate standpoint with Paddy Power and known as Flutter Entertainment PLC).

Brookfield Asset Management Buys Up $2bn of Indian Office Space

Brookfield Asset Management, an alternative asset manager with $550bn in AuM, with headquarters in Toronto, has bought up $2bn of rent-yielding office and co-working spaces from RMZ Corp. Accenture, Google and HSBC are examples of clients of RMZ's spaces.

Nvidia Said to Be Ready to Acquire ARM Holdings from Softbank for $40bn (25% over Original Purchase Price)

This would conclude a four-year holding period for Masayoshi Son, the deal hinging on the recent conclusion of a dispute between Arm and the head of its China joint venture, Allen Wu. Softbank payed $32bn for ARM back in 2016 (shortly after the UK voted to leave the EU).  To facilitate the deal, Softbank also reversed a move to strip out the IoT component of ARM. Nvidia recently overtook Intel to become the world's most valuable chipmaker.

BP Goes Big with Offshore Wind in Equinor Partnership

 BP is investing 50% into two large US based offshore wind projects with Equinor, its first foray into offshore wind, paying Equinor $1.1 bn for its share of existing assets and to enter into the partnership.  BP has a stated aim to develop 50GW of renewable power by 2030. Bernard Looney, CEO for BP (an Irish citizen who started at BP in 1991 as a drilling engineer) stated that this is an important step in its journey to become an "integrated energy company" highlighting that "Offshore wind is growing at around 20% a year globally and is recognized as being a core part of meeting the world’s need to limit emissions"

Jane Fraser to Lead Citi

Scotland-born Jane Fraser, who has worked for Citi for 16 years, is to lead the bank when Michael Corbat (who has been CEO since 2012) retires in February. One of his mission statements was to simplify Citi.

Michael has formerly presided over Citi's wealth management unit as well as the non-core businesses under Citi Holdings where he divested more than $500bn of assets.

Simon Case to Lead the UK Civil Service

Simon Case, holder of the Royal Victorian Order, which recognises service to the monarch, the monarch's family or any senior representative to the monarch, is to become head of the UK's Civil Service.  He studied History at Cambridge graduating in 2002 and has a PhD in political history from QMUL where his advisor was Professor Peter Hennessy (Baron Hennessy).

Goldman Sachs Merchant Banking Plans $2bn Tech Fund

Goldman Sachs is planning a $2bn tech fund. 

This is the culmination of efforts that led to the formation of GS Growth, the dedicated Growth Equity team (and part of Merchant Banking) at Goldman Sachs. 

GS Growth currently targets investments of between $20m-$250m into high growth companies identifying a "compelling market opportunity" and "sustainable competitive advantage through technology, product or process", "referenceable client base", "solid unit economics","product/market fit" and "proven management team".

Other areas of Merchant Banking, include (for reference), infrastructure investing (with investments ranging from $100m to $500m), Specialty Lending and Alternative Energy Investing.

Apple Becomes A $2trillion Company

This follows a $1tr market cap in 2018, doubling in two years. It is 42 years since Apple was founded and the $2tr milestone is a first on Wall Street. Saudi Aramco was briefly valued at this level following its stock market debut. 59 year old Tim Cook presides over Apple as CEO.

Saudi Aramco Looks to Grow Refining Capacity through Stake in India's Reliance Industries

 Saudi Aramco is working to acquire a $15bn stake in RIL's refining and chemicals business. There is existing "cross-trade" - Aramco sells crude to India, India sells back product, including gasoline, to Saudi Arabia. Aramco's Q2 2020 net income saw a 75% drop driven by the 33% drop in oil prices.

Carlyle Group Q2 2020 Results Shows AuM Stable and Strong Returns in "Corporate Private Equity"

Carlyle's AuM was stable at $221bn for Q2 2020.  The bulk of these assets (which includes assets both managed and advised on) are in the Corporate Private Equity segment ($84bn, roughly two-fifths of AuM). Real assets consisted of less than half this amount. Global Credit (renamed from Global Markets) was $50bn with Investment Solutions at $46.9bn (one fifth of AuM). 

Turnover at CALPERS as Ben Meng Steps Down

America's largest pension fund ($409bn), CalPERS (the California Public Employees Retirement System) has lost its investment chief Ben Meng, after around one and a half years in the job.  Its Deputy CIO, Dan Bienvenue, has stepped in as interim head. Ben was formerly Deputy CIO of SAFE (China's State Administration of Foreign Exchange). CalPERS delivered a 4.7% return for the year ended 30 June (exceeding the median return for public pension funds of 3.2% in the same period).

Reset of "Long-term price assumptions" and Impairment Leads BP to Q2 Loss of $6.7bn

The loss compares with $2.8bn profit for the same period last year. Lower oil and gas prices and weak refining margins contributed substantially to the result. Oil trading did well. A dividend of 5.25 cents per share was announced for the quarter.

Google's Alphabet Q2 Revenues Down 2% (First Revenue Decline In History)

Q2 revenue was $38.3bn, a 2% decline, from a reduction in ad spending, but higher than Wall Street estimates. YouTube ad sales, however, grew nearly 6%. Net income was around $7bn. CFO Ruth Porat cited a "difficult global economic environment". Google Cloud revenue has grown 43% from the previous year to more than $3bn.

Goldman Sachs Announces 2Q20 Results

54% of revenues came from Global Markets, with 10% more in FICC than Equities.

Pinduoduo's Founder Becomes China's Second Richest Man

Pinduoduo's founder and CEO, and ex-Googler, Colin Huang (also known as 40 year old Huang Zheng), has overtaken Jack Ma as China's second richest man, with a net worth of $45bn. Tencent's Ma Huateng is first with $52bn net worth. Pinduoduo is listed on NASDAQ:PDD.

UK's Most Westerly Port (Foyle Port) Entices Data Center Investment

Foyle Port, the adopted name for Londonderry Port in Northern Ireland, which has a deepwater facility and is the UK's most westerly port, has granted planning permission for a new data center to create hundreds of jobs. This will be constructed by Atlantic Hub (Director: Brian Doherty), funded largely by Di-squared (Digital Infrastructure Investment) who invest in data centers, recovery sites and mobile network towers across Europe ("data infrastructure as an asset class"). Paul Clancy, head of Londonderry Chamber of Commerce, described the investment as "transformative".

Ernst and Young unable to locate $2.1bn of cash in German Wirecard

The $2.1bn corresponds to 1.9 billion euros. Shares of the Munich-based company (Germany's largest fintech) dropped 62%. Its financial statements release due June 18th has been postponed.

$12.7bn annual operating loss for SoftBank driven by Vision Fund

SoftBank has reported a 1.36 trillion yen loss ($12.7bn) in line with its forecasts. These losses, which are the worst ever for SoftBank, have been driven largely by the $100bn Vision Fund, as a result of valuations e.g. WeWork, Uber, dipping in the wave of Covid-19. Alibaba Founder Jack Ma has also resigned from its board. Son invested $20m in Alibaba in 2000, a bet that paid big when Alibaba went public in 2014.

Pinault's Kering in 1.2 billion (dual tranche) euro bond issue as Q1 Revenues Fall 15%

French conglomerate Kering, which owns the brands Gucci, Balenciaga, Bottega Veneta, Alexander McQueen and Saint Laurent, reported that group revenue fell 15.4% in Q1 2020 as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

Kering exited the retail industry and focused on luxury goods under Pinault's leadership. Kering evolved out of PPR (Pinault-Printemps-Redoute). Pinault is a graduate of France's HEC.

It is issuing a dual tranche bond, each tranche amounting to 600m euros, the first maturing in three years (0.25% coupon), the next in eight years (0.75% coupon). The proceeds will, in part, be used to extend the average maturity of their debt.  The conglo's long term debt is A-rated.

Chairman and Chief Executive, Francois-Henri Pinault, stressed renewed focus on business continuity, adapting cost base and preserving cash position as top priorities. He also expressed his belief in his brands' abilities to "blend long-term vision with near-term imperatives".

Key financial metrics for Kering include Revenues (15.9 billion euro in 2019), EBITDA (6bn euros), EBITDA margin, as % of revenue (37.9% 2019, 37.3% 2018), recurring operating margin (30% 2019).

Nikkei Dives 4.5% After US Stimulus Boost

Index volatility was constant at 48% down from a high of 60%.

Asian Markets up 6%-8% As New US Stimulus Package Announced

Following five days of negotiations, a $1.8 trillion package has been announced by US President Donald Trump and the US Senate (which includes $250bn of direct payments to individuals and families) sending Asian shares on the up.  The Nikkei 225 (which includes companies like Nissan and Panasonic) was up 8% in a day to 19,546. The Kospi (which includes Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix) was up 5.9%. India's Nifty 50 is up 6.6%.

Bill Gates Steps Down from Microsoft's Board

Bill Gates will focus on health and development, education and tackling climate change. He steps away from Microsoft's board and Berkshire Hathaway, having already stepped back from day to day operations at Microsoft in 2008.

UK Cuts Rates to 0.25%

The UK cuts rates from 0.75% to 0.25% (lowest level in history). Further measures are expected to be announced in the Budget.

RBA then Fed Cuts Rates in Bid to Provide Stimulus in Wake of Coronavirus

The Fed has lowered its benchmark rate by 50 bps to provide a "meaningful boost" to the economy, in words of Chair Jerome Powell. US President Donald Trump has tweeted support and called for "more easing and cutting". The Fed's last emergency rate cut was in 2008. Australia and Malaysia have also cut rates, with the RBA declaring a 25bp rate cut to 0.50 percent, and saying "The Board is prepared to ease monetary policy further to support the Australian economy".

Andurand Faces Losses on Commodities

Pierre Andurand's office, which closed its New York operations last year, to focus on London and Malta, has faced trading challenges in 2020. His fund lost 20% in 2018 after a strong run. He has previously called IMO2020 a "once-in-a-generation trading opportunity".

India Predicts 5% Growth

India's statistics ministry has predicted 5% growth in the current financial year, the lowest in 11 years, and below China and Vietnam. Vietnam is predicting 6.5% growth in 2020 in terms of real GDP. Real GDP measures economic output adjusted for price changes.

Brent Reaches $70 a Barrel on US-Iran tensions

The Brent March 2020 (front month) contract reached $70 a barrel.  Front month Nymex WTI in contrast hovered at $64 a barrel (Feb 2020). Both curves were in backwardation. Gold was trading similarly high around $1580 led by the Feb contract. Gold and silver remain in contango. Stocks overall are down with oil majors bucking the trend (Shell up 1.17% in UK trading - RDSA, BP up 1.81% in US trading - NYSE:BP).

Isabel Schnabel to run ECB Market Operations

Germany's Isabel Schnabel has been appointed to the Board of the ECB overseeing market operations.

This is part of the reshuffle implemented by new ECB President Christine Lagarde (previously Managing Director of the IMF, the highest possible position in the IMF, second only to the First Deputy Managing Director).

Lagarde succeeded Mario Draghi (formerly Governor of Banca d'Italia) on 1 November 2019.