Introduction of risk based regulation centering Basel III accord has pushed up costs of fund. As an aftermath, the January 20 auction of the UK sovereign bonds has witnessed the lowest demand in nearly seven years. Ahead of rising concerns over the increasing challenges in the UK gilt market, many of the world’s biggest banks are shrinking their bond-trading activities. However, concerns of the investors and dealers have been communicated to the regulators concerned through a meeting held on Tuesday.
Investors
KFit App Raises $12M In Funding For Asia Expansion With Sequoia Capital, SIG, and Venturra Capital In The Round
KFit, a fitness-sharing platform that based in Kuala Lumpur, has raised a $12 million Series A funding from Sequoia Capital, SIG, and Venturra Capital. The fund will be used to enlarge its services to cities in Asia. Offering a cheaper rate, KFit will compete with its Singaporean rival, GuavaPass.
Foreign investors bail on Russian stocks
Global investors are withdrawing from Russian stock markets as volatility is high in equities and currency Ruble. The continuous drop in oil price is impacting the Russian economy much as it's the main revenue source for the country. The gap between onshore and offshore traded equities is narrowing down as foreign investors are selling off.
Philippine Q4 GDP rise by 6.3%
Philippine's fourth quarter gross domestic product increased by 6.3% driven mainly by higher private consumption, government expenditure as well as an increase in economic activity.
Gold price retreats from 12-week high on US Fed statement
Gold soared to three-month high early this week as investors switched over to safe have following the concerns about the global economy. The US Federal Reserve indicated a challenging global economy and this may not prevent it from raising interest rate. Gold price reached to $1,127.80 on 27 January and this propelled investors to book profits.
Latest News
US oil explorers are expected to report a combined loss of about $14 billion for the year 2015, as a result of the sharpest oil price slump in a generation. Bankruptcies and disappointing debt exchanges have led the oil explorers to cut thousands of staffs, trim dividends, and abandon drilling projects to preserve capital and resist insolvency.
Many venture capitalists like Chamath Palihapitiya prefer to park their funds in Amazon as the online retailer is forecast to grow over a decade. The reason is that it's not because of e-Commerce operations, but its cloud computing unit Amazon Web Services (AWS). Many companies will eventually pay a fixed fee to Amazon as they increasingly rely on cloud computing services to run their services.
Aircall said that it has raised about $2.75 million in a seed funding round. The funding was headed by Balderton Capital, followed by FundersClub and US-based angels.
Business economists seem to be more doubtful regarding their companies' future profits and sales. According to a survey, these economists expect slower GDP growth.
Aramco is the largest known oil producer in the world with a daily production of 10.25 MMbpd. KSA authority has increased feedstock prices to narrow down its budgetary deficits and also increases daily production rate to cope with the soaring demands. Now it is in efforts for Aramco’s listing for IPOs. If listed, Aramco will be the world’s first corporate entity with asset value of more than $1 trillion.
Takata Corp is reportedly planning to meet its major clients in order to discuss its business forecasts. The US transport authorities announced a fresh recall of about 5 million vehicles subsequent to the recent death caused by the Japanese firm's airbag inflators.
Amazon India, an online market, announced a six-fold leap in sales to Rs1, 022 crores for the year ending March 31, 2015, but net loss climbed to Rs1, 723.6 crores during the year.
Four executives are reported to take a departure from the social media company as part of a major restructuring plan by the new CEO Jack Dorsey. In addition to those asked to leave, some other executives have already stepped down out of pressure.
A bitcoin startup Digital Asset Holdings has received funding from major banks. It will work closely with investors on research and commercialization of bitcoin technology applications. Digital Asset said that it has raised over $50 million funding from 13 investors. The list of investors includes JPMorgan Chase & Com, Citigroup Inc, BNP Paribas SA, CME Group Inc and Accenture Plc.
