Fintech

Fintech crash is an M&A opportunity for bold banks

21 Jul 2022

Financial technology groups like $8 bln Affirm, Klarna and Robinhood have plunged in value. Heavy losses and obstinate founders make them tough takeover targets. But lenders like Goldman Sachs could in theory run them more profitably – and boost their own growth in the process.

Why is Tiger dodging family office-dom?

19 Jul 2022

Chase Coleman’s main fund has lost about 50% in the year to May. Often this would prompt others, who struggle to recoup losses, to return cash. But Tiger’s fee structure enables it to keep going. That’s a more transparent way of doing things as long as managers stick around.

Wall Street hates to love watchdog Rohit Chopra

12 Jul 2022

The head of the U.S. consumer finance agency has an expansive view of his role, to the chagrin of lenders he regulates. But banks are going overboard in attacks on the CFPB’s bid to reduce discrimination and vet mergers. Chopra may be their best bet for reining in fintech rivals.

Capital Calls: Klarna’s slashed valuation

11 Jul 2022

Concise views on global finance: The Swedish fintech group’s valuation is down 85% in just over a year to $6.7 bln.

Facebook loses its FAANG chompers

8 Jul 2022

Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg is prepping for a downturn not seen since its early days as a public company. That’s as Google, Amazon, Apple and Netflix are chasing advertising, its main business. If Facebook’s share of the ad pie slips by a hair, Meta’s stock could be worth 25% less.

Peter Thiel-tied fund fights China fire with fire

24 Jun 2022

A nonprofit fund backed by Silicon Valley bigwigs wants to invest in tech that serves national interests. It raises conflicts, security issues, and takes a page from Beijing's playbook. But given China’s market meddling, it’s not a horrible solution.

Wirecard exposed finance’s scary credulity

17 Jun 2022

The payments group collapsed in 2020 after admitting $2 bln of its cash was fake. “Money Men”, a book by the FT journalist who uncovered the scandal, describes a chaotic and unsophisticated fraud. All the more shocking that analysts, advisers, auditors and regulators were fooled.

Cricket rights will bowl India Inc a new line-up

10 Jun 2022

A third of teams in the sport’s premier league fit poorly with owners like Diageo. One, Reliance, wants the broadcast rights too. CVC’s entry into the club creates more uncanny parallels to a changing corporate India. The outcome of the $6 bln TV auction may spur a clean-up.

Capital Calls: JetBlue makes winning Spirit hurt

6 Jun 2022

Concise views on global finance: The hostile bidder has offered cash up-front for Spirit shareholders, which could force current suitor Frontier to make costly concessions.

Capital Calls: Microsoft micromanages tech jitters

2 Jun 2022

Concise views on global finance: A 1% revenue shortfall because of a strong dollar normally isn’t that important. Microsoft’s warning reflects how nervous tech investors have become.

Capital Calls: Twitter snubs investors

27 May 2022

Concise views on global finance: The social media platform refused to accept the resignation of director Egon Durban, one more check for bad corporate governance. But it’s not like investors have held the company to a high standard.

Subdued Alibaba strikes fitting new tone

27 May 2022

New finance chief Toby Xu's focus on cost cuts and better-than-expected sales growth powered a 15% stock rally. The regulatory-thwacked e-commerce group is taking control where it can but exercising discipline on the bottom line in a slowing Chinese economy invites trouble too.

Venture royalty bets $4.5 bln on self-disruption

26 May 2022

Andreessen Horowitz’s new crypto fund comes less than a year after its last one. The former backer of Facebook and Airbnb reckons blockchain-based giants will conquer the web by rewarding users. If true, that should also mean less money for venture capitalists.

Alibaba’s overseas growth push faces European test

25 May 2022

The $223 bln Chinese e-commerce giant hopes to offset sluggish growth at home by expanding in the region via its Southeast Asian offshoot, Lazada. But with a European market share of less than 5%, and entrenched rivals like Amazon, Alibaba may struggle to justify the investment.

Debt-market chaos makes bank deposits great again

24 May 2022

Rising rates and volatility are a problem for fintech upstarts, like Affirm, which rely on wholesale markets to fund loans. Old-school lenders, flush with cheaper deposits, don’t face the same funding pressure. It gives banks a window to strike back.

Xiaomi epitomises risks of supply chain buffering

20 May 2022

The Chinese handset maker and peers weathered component shortages by stockpiling. Xiaomi's shrinking quarterly sales of $11 bln, and a net loss, make clear how the country’s Covid-19 lockdowns are hurting consumers. A reckoning of bloated inventories and falling demand awaits.

Klarna’s $46 bln price tag endures only in theory

19 May 2022

Investors heavily marked down the value of the Swedish startup’s buy-now-pay-later rivals like Affirm. On their sales multiples, privately held Klarna’s valuation would be cut by 75%. While the business is diversified with better funding, it still requires lots of red pen.

Hong Kong can afford slow road to digital currency

19 May 2022

There’s some FOMO in the local e-HKD effort. Central banks elsewhere have better reasons to act faster, including low rates of financial inclusion and less use of physical cash. Hong Kong would do well to think longer about privacy concerns and to learn from other experiments.

Tencent gives China bulls little to run with

18 May 2022

The $450 bln video-games giant said sales stalled in the first quarter, below expectations. Despite signs Beijing may rein in tech crackdowns, the government’s Covid-19 lockdowns are creating more uncertainty. Investors hoping to ride out the volatility will get no such reprieve.

Didi’s New York woes mask deeper problems

4 May 2022

The Chinese ride-hailing group hopes leaving the Big Board will ease Beijing’s cybersecurity probe. It now faces a U.S. investigation into its IPO. Yet the bigger blow in its new annual report is rising regulatory pressure at home, raising fresh doubts about Didi’s core business.