CommScope - ARRIS: a deal to exploit technology disruption - November 17, 2018
​On November 8th, CommScope Holding Co. announced it would buy set-top box maker ARRIS International Plc for a total cash consideration of $7.4 billion.
The deal will create a telecommunications powerhouse in networking equipment, with revenues of $11.3bn.

​Michael Kors to buy Versace for $2.1 billion - November 8, 2018
​On the last day of Milan Fashion Week (September 25, 2018), breaking news emerged from the runway: the Versace family has agreed to sell its company to the American fashion designer Michael Kors for 2.1 billion dollars.

Bill Ackman bets on Starbucks - November 7, 2018
Food, mortgages, railways. What do these industries have in common? Well, they all have been targeted by activist investor William Ackman, founder and CEO of Pershing Square Capital Management.

​Argentina: from boom to bust. An analysis of the $57.1bn IMF bailout - November 6, 2018
​On September 26, 2018, Argentina and the IMF agreed to increase the bailout program to $57.1 bn, the biggest multilateral lender program ever. The aim of this financial plan is to give a way out to Argentina for its incredibly high inflation with an annualized rate of 40%.

CVS-Aetna: the rise of a new healthcare giant - November 1, 2018
​It has been over a year since CVS Health Corp. disclosed it was negotiating to acquire Aetna Inc. for more than $66 billion, after the two companies had been in discussions for several months.
The multi-billion acquisition pairs the country’s largest drugstore chain with more than 9,700 stores and 1,100 clinics across the US with one of the biggest US insurers covering more than 22 million people.

Livent IPO: an interesting example of carve-out - October 30, 2018
On October 11, 2018, Livent Corporation started trading on the NYSE under the ticker LTHM following its IPO. The company issued 143 million shares and the stock opened at $16.25, determining a Market Capitalization of $2.3 billion. 

Will midterm elections impact the stock market? - October 29, 2018
After riding the bull markets to new highs following the surprise election of Donald trump two years ago, investors are now looking for clues about the upcoming midterm elections, which could have a massive impact on equity and debt markets.

​Coca-Cola - Costa Coffee: a move against consumer lifestyle change - October 27, 2018
​In today’s rapidly-changing world, shaped by the consumption attitude of new generations, sugary drinks and junk foods are no longer part of the teenager daily routine. ​Notwithstanding this dangerous environment, on the 31st of August 2018 beverage giant Coca-Cola announced that it had reached a definitive agreement to acquire Costa Limited.

The October stock market sell-off – what is behind it and why it may be good news - October 26, 2018
On October 10, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell more than 800 points, its largest drop since February. The percentage declines were larger for the S&P 500 —with all 11 sectors lower—and Nasdaq, suffering its worst day in more than two years. ​

Walmart vs Amazon – The battle continues in the digital realm - October 22, 2018
Walmart has been fighting a continuous battle against its main rival, Amazon. According to Doug McMillon, company CEO, the world’s largest retailer “unintentionally” became risk averse and, therefore, at present is trying to take on more risk and to reimagine its business.

L3 & Harris merger creates a $34 billion military giant​ - October 21, 2018
L3 and Harris Corp, two of the main US providers of defense electronics and communication technology, agreed on an all-stock merger that will create the United States’ sixth-largest defense contractor with a combined market value of $ 34 billion. ​

Playing the tech slowdown - October 11, 2018
We have seen several falling knives in the technology sector this week. Whether this was the 23% plunge of the Lenovo Group or the 5% fall of Facebook, the Nasdaq lost approximately more than 8%. 

America's Climate Fund, an attempt to offset US withdrawal from the Paris Agreement - May 20, 2018
The 1st of June 2017, Trump announced the US withdrawal from the Paris Agreement. Despite this decision from the US presidency, thousands of groups across the United States - including cities, states, companies, tribes and nongovernmental organizations - have launched initiatives in support of the Paris Agreement.

IPO vs Direct listing – the case of Spotify - May 19, 2018
While I am sure most of our readers will be familiar with the term IPO (Initial Public Offering), fewer may be as knowledgeable about the direct listing process (DLP). Despite being used for years now, the process has recently become a major topic of discussion as the music streaming giant Spotify opted for it in its 3 April listing on the NYSE.

Goldman's New Business - May 18, 2018
On April 15th, 2018, Goldman Sachs Group announced that it had completed the acquisition of Clarity Money for an undisclosed price. The acquisition was formally made by GS Bank, one of the company’s subsidiaries. Clarity Money provides personal finance services through an app, with tools that help clients save and borrow.

What is Cuba's future? - May 15, 2018
April 2018 represents a historical date for Cuba: for the first time since 1959, the presidency of the country will not be held by a Castro-family member. On April 19, the National Cuban Assembly elected almost by unanimity (603 out of 604 votes) Miguel Diaz-Canel - 58 years old – as the new president of Cuba.

​Netflix: from the beginning to the last blowout quarter - May 14, 2018
Founded in Los Gatos (California) in 1997, Netflix was initially a DVD and videogames rental business: users could book DVDs via the internet and receive them directly at home via the postal service. In less than 20 years it has reached an outstanding position and is now becoming one of the most relevant companies in its sector.

Could Nasdaq become a Cryptocurrency Exchange? - May 13, 2018
Nasdaq is open to becoming a cryptocurrency exchange. This is what Adena Friedman, Nasdaq’s Chief Executive Officer, said in an interview at CNBC on April 25. However, as virtual currencies are still very lightly regulated, it would take some time to accomplish it.

​Wells Fargo - The scandal-hit US Bank - May 11, 2018
Wells Fargo, US’s third-biggest bank by assets, has been in the eye of the storm for quite a long time now. Indeed, since the beginning of September 2016, the bank was hit by several scandals concerning the cross-selling of products without customers’ knowledge.

​T-Mobile and Sprint all-stock merger - May 10, 2018
On April 29, 2018, T-Mobile and Sprint, respectively third and fourth-biggest US wireless carriers, announced an agreement to merge, creating a giant nearly as large as AT&T or Verizon Wireless. Under the terms of the deal, the merged company will be led by John Legere, current T-Mobile CEO and take the T-Mobile name, and will have more than 127m wireless subscribers in the country. 

​Procter & Gamble Acquires Its Way Out of Turnaround - May 5, 2018
P&G reached an agreement with German Merck KGaA to acquire the latter’s consumer health business for €3.4 bn in an all-cash deal. The acquisition would enable the American company to expand its portfolio of consumer-health products, amid difficult times marked by fierce competition and decreasing gross margins.

Is paying for results ready to take off in developing countries? - May 2, 2018
One year after the launched in Colombia of the first Social Impact Bond ever issued in developing countries, mixed finance alternatives continue to develop to address developing areas’ challenges.
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US tech export ban on China’s ZTE: the trade war continues - April 30, 2018
According to the ban imposed on ZTE, the US government stopped ZTE’s purchase of any type of item from the US. American companies are estimated to provide around 25-30% of the components used in ZTE’s equipment. 

​The Resurgence of the Brazilian M&A Market: Suzano And Fibria Deal - April 23, 2018
The Brazilian M&A market is resurging, after a period of stagnation, thanks to a recent megadeal in the cellulose sector. Suzano Papel e Celulose has just concluded the takeover of its major competitor, Fibria Celulose, creating the world’s biggest producer of eucalyptus pulp.

Lending To Nonbank Financial Firms: Are Big Banks Back Into Subprimes? – April 15, 2018
Has the involvement of big banks in this sector really come to an end? The answer is no. According to the Wall Street Journal, it has just passed through “a back door”: nonbank financial firms. Since 2010, bank loans to nonbank financial firms have increased sixfold, reaching a record $345 billion. In 2017, Wells Fargo accounted for $81 billion alone, compared with $14 billion in 2010.

The AT&T challenge - April 9, 2018
The TV-program distributor AT&T has agreed, in October 2016, to acquire the TV-program producer Time Warner for an $85 billion deal. The proposed merger, though, is still facing strong opposition. As a matter of fact, on March 22 the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) brought the case to trial arguing the takeover may substantially lessen competition in the media industry.

Amazon planning to create checking account service - April 8, 2018
Jeff Bezos, Amazon’s CEO and founder, wants to change how America pays for things. The enterprise is in talks with JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Capital One Financial Corp., a bank holding company specializing in credit cards, auto loans, banking and savings products, to create its own banking system.

Blackstone is ready to acquire Thomson Reuters F&R unit - April 6, 2018
On 30th January Thomson Reuters announced an agreement to sell its Financial & Risk unit to the private equity fund Blackstone. The value of the business has been estimated around $20 billion. Blackstone will acquire 55 percent of the business, while the other 45 percent will remain under Thomson Reuters’ control. ​

How expectations of rising rates influence corporate high yield bonds - April 3, 2018
Expectations of increasing interest rates in the United States are increasing the outflows from funds investing in junk bonds. Renewed fears of higher rates in the US triggered a wave of redemptions from funds specialized in HY bonds, with net outflows in February over 10 billion, the worst in the past two years. ​

Innocence Lost. Facebook's datagate scandal - March 30, 2018
​This week has certainly been not one to remember for US Big Techs and Facebook is the primary responsible, kicking off an unfortunate chain of events. The discovery that Cambridge Analytica - the data company hired by Mr Trump’s campaign - had obtained Facebook data harvested from about 50m people, has raised questions regarding data use and protection of privacy. 

​Will Petro cryptocurrency be enough to save Venezuela? - March 28, 2018
Nicolás Maduro, Venezuelan president, announced three months ago that Venezuela would launched its own new cryptocurrency named “Petro”. ​Through the launch of the national cryptocurrency, Maduro hoped to get around the financial sanctions imposed by the USA and Canada.

DropBox: another unicorn goes public - March 26, 2018
DropBox, the online storage and syncing company, filed for an initial public offering on the 27th of February. The company co-founded in 2007 by Drew Houston was ready to go public seeking for a valuation of $7-$7.9 billion, below its $10 billion valuation given in earlier funding rounds. 

Keurig - Dr. Pepper: The Caffeine Merger  -  March 17, 2018
JAB Holding has announced its acquisition of Dr Pepper Snapple Group Inc. (NYSE:DPS) for $18.7bn in cash, in what has been defined as the “largest acquisition in the non-alcoholic beverage industry”.​

​Market concerns rise as Gary Cohn resigns - March 14, 2018
This past Tuesday the White House announced that the President’s head of National Economic Council, Gary Cohn, will resign. The news came as Trump announced he plans to push forward a 25% tariff on imports of steel and 10% on aluminum, a policy of which Mr. Cohn has been in clear disapprove of.  
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Upgrading Costco: Walmart's Sam's Club Closures Driving Costco's Outlook - March 11, 2018
Sam's Club is an American chain of membership-only retail warehouse clubs owned and operated by Walmart (NYSE: WMT). On Jan. 11, 2018, Walmart announced its plans to close 63 Sam's Club in various locations. 

​Vista Oil&Gas fulfils its special purpose with the acquisition of Petrolera Entre Lomas - March 10, 2018
On February the 19th of 2018, Vista Oil & Gas announced the purchase of a 99.7% share in Petrolera Entre Lomas (Pelsa), for $700m. The closing is expected by the end of March, as the transaction will be officially approved in the next shareholders’ meeting. 

Do US investors have reason to fear an inflation hike? - March 7, 2018
Last Wednesday the Bureau of Labor Statistics has released the latest tables related to the consumer price index (CPI), showing the changes in the prices of everyday items. The CPI rose 1.9 per cent from last year​

A Four-Way Deal: Fox, Sky, Disney and Comcast - March 4, 2018
Comcast Corporation, the world’s largest media conglomerate by revenue, has just announced its plans to acquire all of UK broadcaster Sky Plc for £22.1 billion ($30.9 billion), in a time when the latter is more wanted than ever. This news comes after a complex period involving some of the largest players in the industry.

The State Of The China-United States Relationship - March 1, 2018
China is the most populated country in the world and, by nominal GDP, its economy is second only to that of the United States. Therefore, it is no surprise that the former President George W. Bush considered the relationship between China and the United States to be “the most important bilateral relationship of the 21st century.”​

Regulating Google - December 2, 2017
Regulation is becoming an increasing source of concern for the tech sector. Over the past 10 years, Apple, Amazon, Facebook and Alphabet (Google’s parent company) have grown to become, together with Microsoft, which successfully maintained its leading position, the world’s five largest companies by market capitalisation, thus starting to appear as monopolies.

Venezuela's descent into default - December 1, 2017
​Venezuela’s economic position is highly at risk lately, due to a $60 billion debt.
On November 14th, Standard and Poor’s announced that Venezuela defaulted on its bond payments.

Finance seduces Apple - November 9, 2017
Apple does not have a subsidiary with the purpose of managing its financial operations, but if these were summed together the result would be $262bn of assets and $108bn of debt, or, as “The Economist” points out, half the size of Goldman Sachs.

How would CVS and Aetna fit together? - October 31, 2017
On Oct. 26, 2017, CVS (NYSE: CVS) made a blockbuster bid for Aetna (NYSE: AET) for more than $66 billion amid a continuing reordering of the health-care industry.

The economics of trade deficits - May 22, 2017
U.S. President Donald Trump and his administration have repeatedly expressed their intention to raise tariffs and introduce border taxes penalising imports, claiming that doing so will reduce trade deficits and stimulate the US economy. Does it make sense?

IPOs in North America: a strong Q1 and a promising start for 2017 - May 17, 2017
This first quarter of the year was more than promising.
It was indeed the highest first quarter in terms of global numbers of IPOs since Q1 of 2007, before the crisis. 
The outlook for the rest of the current year is optimistic given the encouraging results so far.

Spotify seems ready for an IPO, but would that be a real IPO? - May 14, 2017
​Spotify, the Swedish music, podcast, and video streaming service is planning to go public this year but it is seriously considering joining the stock market without a traditional IPO.
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Tesla – America’s most valuable Automobile Company - May 8, 2017
On 10 April 2017 Tesla, the manufacturer of electric cars, briefly surpassed the market capitalization of General Motors (GM), thus becoming the most valuable American automaker.
​The spectacular rise of Tesla – and the possible decline ahead.

Zeno’s paradox readjusted: the race between Active Managers and the Benchmark - Apr 30, 2017
These are bad times for active portfolio managers: almost 90% underperformed the S&P 500 in the past 15 years, and, only in 2016, two thirds of them failed to overtake the index.
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Institutional investors should adjust their bond portfolios ahead of Fed hikes - Apr 22, 2017
The US economy is hitting maximum levels of employment and inflation, and, in response, Janet Yellen, Chair of the Federal Reserve, is expected to accelerate the pace of interest rate increases. In the current market environment longer maturities should be preferred to shorter ones by institutional investors.

The resurgence of Investment Banking: Winners and Losers - Apr 18, 2017
The US bank earning season showed a hot start for Citigroup and JP Morgan Chase & Co., while a less impressive performance was presented by Wells Fargo from the beginning of the new year, as the three megabanks released their first quarterly results for year 2017 on Thursday 13 of April.

Valeant’s disease infects Bill Ackman’s portfolio - April 17, 2017
With the sale of his 10% stake in Valeant Pharmaceuticals, the controversial Canadian drug-maker, hedge fund legend Bill Ackman, founder and CEO of Pershing Square Capital Management, suffered the worst loss of his career.

Canada Goose soars in debut with Richest Luxury Valuation - Apr 13, 2017
On Thursday March 16th Canada Goose Holdings Inc., producer of stylish $900 parkas, surged in its debut as publicly traded company on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX). The significant first-day gain marked the second biggest IPO debut in 2017.

U.S. Equities in 2017: uncertainty and high risks - Apr 8, 2017
 Since the presidential election, 2017 has been predicted to be a high-risk year for the U.S. economy, characterized by binary outcomes with conflicting results.