The Swiss national flag hangs from the Federal Palace, the Swiss parliament building, in Bern, Switzerland, on Thursday, December 13, 2018. The Swiss National Bank lowered its inflation forecasts and showed no inclination to abandon its crisis-era settings, citing the strength of the franc and rising global risks. Photographer: Stefan Wermuth/Bloomberg via Getty ImagesBloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesThe Swiss National Bank on Thursday surprised the market with its decision to cut its key interest rate by 0.25 percentage points to 1.5%, saying national inflation is likely to remain below 2% for the foreseeable future.Economists polled by Reuters expected the…
Author: ricardofrancois
Ernie Garcia insisted for years that Carvana would become the world's most profitable used car dealer by selling millions of vehicles online. But by the end of 2022, the company's co-founder looked like another tech bro whose operational skills failed to match his courage.Carvana's stock price has fallen to $4 from $360 at its peak. Wall Street's largest vulture funds were hunkering down in anticipation of a possible bankruptcy. High interest rates have worsened the affordability of used cars. The company that had enticed investors as a digital revolutionary, distributing vehicles from illuminated glass towers, was instead at risk of…
You've probably noticed that many commercial vehicles are now electric vehicles – think delivery vans, telecom minibuses, utility maintenance trucks, etc. But many diesel commercial vehicles remain because they are simply too expensive and too complicated to convert to an entire fleet of electric vehicles overnight. For this reason, Pelikan Mobility has built a platform and leasing solution to address this challenge caused by the transition to electric vehicles for commercial fleets. The French startup has raised a €4 million seed round (about $4.4 million at today's exchange rate) from Pale Blue Dot, Frst, Seedcamp, and others. Both commercial fleet…
Open Editor's Digest for freeRula Khalaf, editor of the Financial Times, picks her favorite stories in this weekly newsletter.This article is an on-site version of our Unhedged newsletter. Sign up here to get the newsletter sent directly to your inbox every weekdayGood morning. I'm old enough to remember when private equity firms liked to buy companies with stable, predictable cash flows that were ready to cut costs. Yesterday came the news that Apollo is interested in purchasing Paramount Global studio in Hollywood. What is the famous film industry? Lack of predictable profits and a dislike of “alternatives” who come in…
Topeka, Kansas – Kansas lawmakers join their Republican colleagues in other states in trying to restrict diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives on campus, but they framed their proposals to avoid having to agree on how to define DEI.The Kansas House plans to vote Thursday on a bill aimed at preventing universities, community colleges or technical colleges from basing a student admission, employee hiring or promotion on any statement or pledge about diversity, equity or inclusion. Although the bill includes these words, it also states that universities cannot request a statement about “any political ideology or movement.”The vote was scheduled a…
Daniel Chang gestures as he speaks during a panel discussion on the second day of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, on Wednesday, January 22, 2020. Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesAlibaba GroupFormer Firstred Capital CEO Daniel Zhang will join Firstred Capital as managing partner, Firstred Capital said on Thursday, six months after leaving the Chinese e-commerce giant.Firstred said in a post on its official WeChat account that Zhang will join the fund to work with its founder Liu Xiaodan to “explore a new future for M&A funds.” The fund has offices in Beijing and Shanghai, and its…
Open Editor's Digest for freeRula Khalaf, editor of the Financial Times, picks her favorite stories in this weekly newsletter.The writer is chief European economist at T Rowe PriceFinancial markets and fiscal rules are putting pressure on governments to reduce historically high public debt-to-GDP ratios. In fact, fiscal restraint and inflation are politically unpopular means to achieve this end. Exiting debt is less likely today, given lower expected real GDP growth rates. What is known as financial repression appears to be the path of least resistance to reduce debt and keep bond vigilantes at bay.This is defined as any policy with…
For more than two hours, Emmett Brock waited outside the Downey courtroom. He sat, stood, fidgeted, and paced down the empty hall. Finally he heard his name and entered.That was March 8, 2024, exactly 392 days after he was beaten by a Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy in front of a 7-Eleven, then arrested and charged for biting the lawman who beat him. After that, he was sent to Norwalk Station Jail and booked on three felonies and a misdemeanor. By the time prosecutors dropped the case seven months later, he had already lost his high school teaching job.It had…
Angela Chow, CEO of Foremost Group, was drunk last month when she accidentally drove Tesla X SUV in reverse over a wall in a pond at the Texas ranch she owned with her husband, billionaire venture capitalist Jim Breyer, according to a police report released Wednesday.Zhao drowned after his friends and rescue workers tried unsuccessfully to pull the 50-year-old shipping manager out of the submerged car.This desperate effort was detailed in the new report, which concluded that she died as a result of an “unfortunate accident.”A toxicology report later showed Chow's blood alcohol concentration was 0.233, the Blanco County Sheriff's…
Reddit Inc. and its selling shareholders $748 million, pricing shares in an initial public offering at the top of the marketed range, the second big tech listing in as many days.The social media platform, along with other senior executives and employees, sold 22 million shares for $34 per share, according to a statement confirming an earlier report by Bloomberg News. Shares in the IPO were marketed at a price range of $31 to $34.At its IPO price, Reddit's market cap is $5.4 billion based on outstanding shares listed in its filings with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Including stock…