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The perils of the fintech deal flurry

It was already a big deal when Visa agreed to acquire fintech startup Plaid for $5.3 billion in January—two times the company’s previous private market valuation. But the deal heralded something even larger, helping ignite a flurry of mega fintech deals: Intuit announced plans to acquire Credit Karma for $7.1 billion just a month later, while competitor Mastercard said it planned to acquire Finicity for nearly $1 billion in June.

Now the Department of Justice is scrutinizing all three deals, each involving a startup selling to an older and larger incumbent. In particular, the DoJ could soon decide whether it will sue to block Visa’s planned acquisition of Plaid, according to the Wall Street Journal—and it is also looking into the Finicity and Credit Karma deals.

Plaid and Visa aren’t direct competitors—Visa focuses on payments while Plaid builds software that helps digitally connect consumers’ various bank and fintech … Read the rest

Business professional

Strategic Alliance

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White House Ditches Pre-Election Stimulus Hope, Sees Weeks to Go

(Bloomberg) — The White House on Tuesday appeared resigned to what most observers of the fiscal-stimulus negotiations had long concluded: there won’t be a pre-election package.“We’re confident that we can get something in the coming weeks,” White House spokeswoman Alyssa Farah said Tuesday. When pressed on Fox News about whether that means not this week, she said, “We’re hoping within weeks, I don’t want to get too ahead of any announcements.”The departure of U.S. senators from the Capitol for a pre-election break on Monday had already made the logistics for passing a bill by Election Day practically impossible.The failure of the months-long talks leaves the economy more vulnerable to damage from a resurgent coronavirus pandemic. The shape of any post-Nov. 3 package is also unclear and will likely be influenced by the results.After the latest call between House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Monday, there was … Read the rest

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High street sales slump at fastest pace on record as restrictions tighten

Retail sales fell at their fastest pace in four months in October as households reined in their spending in the face of fresh coronavirus restrictions.

The CBI’s latest monthly distributive trades survey fell from 11 per cent to -23 per cent in October. Only 36 per cent of respondents said that sales were up, which was more than offset by the 59 per cent who reported a slump.

It comes after a period of robust growth for the retail sector, which rebounded strongly when the lockdown was first lifted in the summer. Retail sales grew at their fastest pace in 18 months in September but the latest economic data suggest that the recovery is losing momentum as restrictions are tightened in parts of the country.

Ben Jones, principal economist at the CBI, said: “It’s no surprise that sales have dipped despite no new direct restrictions on retail in England, as … Read the rest

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Peso climbs on BoP surplus, vaccine news

THE PESO strengthened against the dollar on Tuesday as the country logged a balance of payments (BoP) surplus last month and on news that patients in the clinical trials of drug company AstraZeneca Plc showed a positive response to its coronavirus vaccines.

The local unit closed at P48.375 versus the dollar on Tuesday, rising by two centavos from its P48.395 finish on Monday, data from the Bankers Association of the Philippines showed.

The peso opened Tuesday’s session at P48.40 against the greenback. It reached a peak of P48.37 while its weakest showing was at P48.48 per dollar.

Dollars traded rose to $838.87 million on Tuesday from $671.25 million on Monday.

Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort said the peso rose after the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported a BoP surplus in September.

“The peso was stronger after stronger BoP surplus data as the highest in four … Read the rest

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Stocks Flat After Monday Selloff

Stocks opened little changed on Tuesday as Wall Street attempted to rebound from a massive selloff a day earlier while traders pored over news on dealmaking, earnings and the coronavirus.

The Dow Jones Industrials eked higher 5.56 points to 27,690.94, after Monday’s 650-point loss, its biggest one-day drop since Sept. 3.

The S&P 500 restored 5.47 points to 3,406.44.

The NASDAQ recovered 60.38 points to 11,419.32.

AMD said it was buying rival Xilinx in a $35-billion all-stock deal in a push for the data centre market. Xilinx led chip stocks higher, gaining 12.3%. AMD shares dipped 1.7%.

With less than a week of trading left in October, the Dow is down slightly for the month and the S&P 500 has added 1.1%, and NASDAQ is up 1.7%.

A slew of large-cap companies reported quarterly earnings on Tuesday, including manufacturing giants 3M and Caterpillar. Caterpillar reported a steep drop in year-over-year … Read the rest

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How one company is ‘pulling the plug’ on the ‘bathtub’ of climate change

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If the Earth’s atmosphere is a bathtub, it’s getting close to full. The analogy is one that Steve Oldham, CEO of Carbon Engineering, uses to explain what he believes are the best strategies to fight climate change.

A bathtub, Oldham explains, can only hold so much water before it overflows—and it’s too late to turn off the faucets all the way. But if you slow the stream of water and, at the same time, open the bathtub’s drain, you can still stop the tub from reaching its limit.

“The bathtub is going to continue to fill,” Oldham said at the Fortune Global Forum on Monday. “If we had the ability to pull the plug at the same time as we turn down the taps, the water … Read the rest

Business marketing

Allcard V Skinner

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Dunkin’ Courted by Inspire Brands

Dunkin’ Brands (NASDAQ:DNKN) has held preliminary discussions to be acquired by Inspire Brands, a private equity-backed restaurant company, Dunkin’ said in a statement on Sunday.

“There is no certainty that any agreement will be reached,” said Karen Raskopf, Chief Communications Officer of Dunkin’ Brands.

The deal being discussed would take Dunkin’ Brands private at a price of $106.50 a share, said the New York Times which first reported the development.

Inspire Brands, the owner of Arby’s and Jimmy John’s, declined to comment.

The announcement could be made public as soon as Monday, the New York Times said.

Inspire’s portfolio includes more than 11,000 Arby’s, Buffalo Wild Wings, SONIC Drive-In, Rusty Taco, and Jimmy John’s locations worldwide, according to the company’s website.

Inspire Brands was formed in 2018 by private-equity firm Roark Capital as a holding company after Arby’s completed the acquisition of Buffalo Wild Wings.

With more than 21,000 points … Read the rest

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Stocks lose momentum as market pockets gains

By Denise A. Valdez, Senior Reporter

LOCAL SHARES started to lose momentum on Monday as investors began to pocket gains from the recent rally, resulting in flattish trading.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) inched up 7.13 points or 0.11% to close Monday’s session at 6,491.19. The wider all shares index fell 0.59 point or 0.01% to 3,859.36.

“We saw some profit taking in early trading; however, investors were quick to pick up issues that pulled back,” AAA Southeast Equities, Inc. Research Head Christopher John Mangun said in an e-mail.

The PSEi opened at 6,496.19 and reached a low of 6,453.20 intraday. It started picking up during the last minutes of trading, peaking at 6,517.26 but eventually falling to close at 6,491.19.

“Philippine shares initially continued to struggle for direction. bouncing around the break-even line, as several uncertainties loomed large,” Regina Capital Development Corp. Head of Sales Luis A. Limlingan … Read the rest