Stock Markets

UBS acquires Credit Suisse – merger agreement ready

Published

3 months ago

March 20, 2023

UBS acquires Credit Suisse. The Swiss financial holding company will buy out its competitor Credit Suisse. The press-release says that under the terms of the deal UBS will pay with its shares at the scheme of one UBS share for 22.48 Credit Suisse shares. That ratio assumes that the entire bank was valued at 3 billion francs ($3.2 billion) in the transaction, the statement said.

That’s less than half of the bank’s market value at Friday’s close of 7.4 billion francs, or nearly $8 billion.

The merger, which is expected to be completed this year, will be done without shareholder approval procedures for both banks, the bank said. The deal assumes substantial government support. The government agreed to give UBS a government guarantee to cover potential losses of 9 billion francs ($ 9.7 billion) under a number of conditions. The National Bank, in turn, offered UBS 100 billion francs ($108 billion) to make up its liquidity.

UBS announced the takeover of Credit Suisse

Merger talks began this week amid a series of problems. Last month, the bank reported its biggest annual loss since the global financial crisis and said its customers withdrew more than 110 billion Swiss francs from their accounts in the fourth quarter.

The problems worsened in March, with the bank admitting “significant deficiencies” in its financial disclosure for the previous two years on March 14, and its largest shareholder, Saudi National Bank, saying it was not ready to inject new capital into the bank. The stock has since fallen to a record low. The bank announced plans to borrow $54 billion from the Central Bank “to proactively strengthen its liquidity,” but that didn’t remedy the situation. Deposit outflows at the end of last week exceeded 10 billion francs a day.

The takeover of rival UBS was pushed by the authorities. UBS offered to buy the troubled bank for $1 billion, but Credit Suisse rejected the offer, as it considered that the amount offered was too small, and such a deal would be harmful to shareholders and employees.

After that, the authorities are considering a full nationalization or transfer to the state ownership of a significant block of shares. UBS later agreed to pay more than $2 billion.

Note the volatility throughout the stock market, including the S&P 500.

Earlier we reported that Swiss regulators said the Central Bank is ready to intervene in the situation with Credit Suisse.

Stock Markets

Goldman Sachs to start trading Japan power futures

Published

16 hours ago

June 7, 2023

Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) plans to establish a desk in Tokyo to start trading Japanese power derivatives, two people familiar with the matter told Reuters on Wednesday.

More foreign energy companies and banks are seeking access to the Japanese power market, which was launched in 2016 in the wake of the Fukushima nuclear disaster in 2011, spurring trade activity by generators, consumers, and distributors.

An interest in trading rose amid growing liquidity in Japan’s power futures markets as the volatility of electricity prices surged following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The power crisis heightened the need for hedging among power suppliers and buyers, according to the sources.

Goldman Sachs has hired some traders in Tokyo, the sources said, requesting anonymity as the matter is still confidential.

A spokesperson for Goldman Sachs declined to comment.

Stock Markets

Cathie Wood buys the dip in Coinbase shares amid SEC crackdown

Published

18 hours ago

June 7, 2023

Cathie Wood’s Ark Invest increased its stake in crypto exchange Coinbase Global Inc (NASDAQ:COIN) on Tuesday, as a crackdown by the Securities and Exchange Commission on the crypto industry saw the stock hit near five-month lows.Data from the website Cathie’s Ark, which tracks the investment activities of the Ark group, showed that three funds under Cathie Wood bought a total of over 400,000 shares in Coinbase on Tuesday.Her flagship ARK Innovation ETF (NYSE:ARKK) carried out most of the buying, adding over 300,000 shares.This came as Coinbase’s share price plummeted as much as 20% after the SEC sued the firm over operating an unlicensed exchange, while also issuing cease and desist letters over its staking services.

“We allege that Coinbase, despite being subject to the securities laws, commingled and unlawfully offered exchange, broker-dealer, and clearinghouse functions,” SEC Chair Gary Gensler said in a press release.

Coinbase shares settled 12% lower on Tuesday, their second session of steep losses this week following a 9% tumble on Monday, after the SEC also sued world no. 1 crypto exchange Binance over similar charges.But Coinbase shares rose 2% in aftermarket trading, boosted by news of the Ark buy.Cathie Wood has repeatedly expressed confidence in Coinbase and the broader crypto industry, and has cited a $1 million long-term price target for Bitcoin on the belief that it is an effective inflation hedge.Coinbase holds the fifth-largest weightage in Ark’s flagship Innovation ETF, with the fund having consistently accumulated the stock since its listing in 2021. But Coinbase has seen a sharp decline in value from 2021 highs, hitting record lows earlier this year as interest in crypto markets rapidly dried up amid rising U.S. lending rates.The company has also struggled to remain profitable amid multiple failed ventures, regulatory hiccups, and mounting operational costs, especially as low crypto trading volumes hurt its transaction margins, which are a key source of revenue.Bitcoin prices showed little reaction to the SEC move against Coinbase, rising 4% on Wednesday. But the world’s largest cryptocurrency was nursing steep losses through May, as trading volumes sank.

Stock Markets

Japan stocks lower at close of trade; Nikkei 225 down 1.82%

Published

20 hours ago

June 7, 2023

Japan stocks were lower after the close on Wednesday, as losses in the Banking, Transportation Equipment and Power sectors led shares lower.

At the close in Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 declined 1.82%.

The best performers of the session on the Nikkei 225 were Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd. (TYO:7012), which rose 4.35% or 146.00 points to trade at 3,500.00 at the close. Meanwhile, Tokuyama Corp. (TYO:4043) added 3.78% or 84.50 points to end at 2,321.00 and SKY Perfect JSAT Holdings Inc. (TYO:9412) was up 2.20% or 12.00 points to 557.00 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were Shionogi & Co., Ltd. (TYO:4507), which fell 4.43% or 283.00 points to trade at 6,100.00 at the close. Daikin Industries, Ltd. (TYO:6367) declined 4.40% or 1,300.00 points to end at 28,240.00 and Tokyo Electron Ltd. (TYO:8035) was down 4.18% or 820.00 points to 18,815.00.

Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the Tokyo Stock Exchange by 2255 to 1305 and 270 ended unchanged.

Shares in Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd. (TYO:7012) rose to 5-year highs; rising 4.35% or 146.00 to 3,500.00. Shares in Tokuyama Corp. (TYO:4043) rose to 52-week highs; gaining 3.78% or 84.50 to 2,321.00.

The Nikkei Volatility, which measures the implied volatility of Nikkei 225 options, was down 3.03% to 21.15.

Crude oil for July delivery was down 0.84% or 0.60 to $71.14 a barrel. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Brent oil for delivery in August fell 0.79% or 0.60 to hit $75.69 a barrel, while the August Gold Futures contract fell 0.42% or 8.30 to trade at $1,973.20 a troy ounce.

USD/JPY was down 0.20% to 139.36, while EUR/JPY fell 0.33% to 148.83.

The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.09% at 104.17.