What the enthusiasm for funding startups means for the VC world

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Description: More money chasing scarce ideas means that the prices paid for startups rise ​Source: Economist.com Date: Apr 03, 2021 Link: https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2021/03/31/what-the-enthusiasm-for-funding-startups-means-for-the-vc-world Questions for discussion: What does the article suggest might be happening in the VC world? Do you agree with this assessment? How should investors regard the message in this article?

Credit Suisse takes $4.7 billion hit from Archegos hedge fund scandal; execs step down

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Description: Credit Suisse on Tuesday announced several high-level staff departures and proposed a cut to its dividend as it weighs heavy losses from the Archegos Capital saga. Source: CNBC.com – video report Date: Apr 06, 2021 Link: https://www.cnbc.com/2021/04/06/credit-suisse-cuts-dividend-on-hit-from-hedge-fund-scandal-investment-bank-head-and-chief-risk-officer-step-down.html Questions for discussion: Explain the fallout from this fiasco. Do you think management did enough to prevent this from… Read more »

Digital Boomerang: New Online Customers Drive Boost In Returns

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Description: New customers spent 144% more last year than they did in 2019, and that may be because there were more of them, judging by a new report from Alliant. Source: MediaPost.com Date: Apr 06, 2021 Link: https://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/362041/digital-boomerang-new-online-customers-drive-boos.html Questions for discussion: What do these numbers suggest about the online businesses serving the industry? How would… Read more »

Lightspeed rolls out online payment processing service in virus-hit UK and Europe in boost for continent’s battered restaurants

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Description: Lightspeed POS Inc.  said Tuesday it’s rolling out its point-of-sales payment processing services in the U.K. and Europe, with the aim to help restaurants and retailers consolidate their online and brick-and-mortar sales systems. ​Source: FinancialPost.ca Date: Apr 06, 2021 Link: https://financialpost.com/technology/lightspeed-rolls-out-online-payment-processing-service-in-virus-hit-uk-and-europe-in-boost-for-continents-battered-restaurants Questions for discussion: How is the firm expanding? Do you think the firm… Read more »

Job Training That’s Free Until You’re Hired Is a Blueprint for Biden

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Description: Social Finance, a nonprofit, is spreading a model in which training programs get paid if students get hired, not just if they enroll. Source: NYTimes.com Date: Apr 07, 2021 Link: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/07/business/job-training-thats-free-until-youre-hired-is-a-blueprint-for-biden.html Questions for discussion: What do you think of this nonprofit business model and Social Finance, in particular? Is this a replacement for traditional… Read more »

Meet the 7-year-old who asked Old Navy to put pockets in girls’ jeans

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Description: Learning to write persuasive letters in first grade, 7-year-old Kamryn Gardner wrote to Old Navy, asking them to put real pockets in girls’ jeans – and the retailer responded by sending her jeans with pockets! Joining TODAY live with her parents, Kamryn says “I was very excited … I thought it was a birthday… Read more »

The economy is expected to boom in the second quarter, and that’s good news for stocks

Posted by & filed under Economic Analysis, Growth & Valuation, Industry Analysis, Market Analysis, Personal Finance.

Description: The nation’s economic growth is in for a boost in the second quarter, as parts of the economy most impacted by the pandemic reopen. Source: CNBC.com – video report Date: Apr 01, 2021 Link: https://www.cnbc.com/2021/04/01/economic-boom-in-the-second-quarter-a-boost-for-stocks.html Questions for discussion: What is the basis for this prediction? Do you agree with the assessment? What would you… Read more »

One of World’s Greatest Hidden Fortunes Is Wiped Out in Days

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Description: From his perch high above Midtown Manhattan, just across from Carnegie Hall, Bill Hwang was quietly building one of the world’s greatest fortunes. Even on Wall Street, few ever noticed him — until suddenly, everyone did. Source: Yahoo.Finance.com and Bloomberg.com Date: Mar 30, 2021 Link: https://ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/one-world-greatest-hidden-fortunes-002617417.html Questions for discussion: Explain what happened. What do… Read more »

The Start-Up Enemies of Wall Street Are Booming

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Description: Times are flush for young tech companies like Stripe and Coinbase, which are having a moment as they upend the financial establishment. Source: NYTimes.com Date: Mar 30, 2021 Link: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/29/technology/fintech-startups-wall-street.html? Questions for discussion: Why are these fintech startups attracting so much capital and attention? What does this portend for the banking industry, in your… Read more »

TD ‘very open’ to major bank deal in the U.S.

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Description: Toronto-Dominion Bank Chief Executive Officer Bharat Masrani said he’s still interested in a major acquisition to add to the firm’s U.S. retail operations, and that he’s unfazed by the recent valuation surge for the regional lenders that would be his most likely targets. ​Source: BNNBloomberg.ca – video report Date: Apr 01, 2021 Link: https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/td-very-open-to-major-bank-deal-in-the-u-s-1.1585366… Read more »