Americas - Bocconi Students Capital Markets

Beyond Meat IPO: Investors like it, but will consumers agree? - June 11, 2019
Beyond Meat Inc., the plant-based meat start-up from California, debut on NASDAQ on the 2nd of May under the symbol “BYND”. The Initial public offering price was set at $25 a share, at the high hand of its expected range ($23-$25), and with 9.63 million shares sold the company raised $240.6 million, reaching a $1.5 billion valuation.

Interest-only loans and the threat of massive write-downs - June 8, 2019
An interest-only loan is simply a loan that collects interest-only payments, rather than amortizing (paying down the principal). Interest-only payments may be applied to a specific period of a loan, usually at the beginning, or may apply for the entire life of the loan. Many bridge lenders and debt funds typically only require interest to be paid on the loan until maturity, when they will collect on the entire loan principal. This is referred to as “full-term interest only”. These risky offerings fall under the umbrella of non-qualifying loans, meaning they do not conform to standards set by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

US-China trade wars: a threat to a bullish view on global markets - June 5, 2019
On Sunday and Monday US president Donald Trump published a number of tweets threatening to raise tariffs from 10% to 25% on $200bn of Chinese goods and impose a 25% tariff on another $325bn of currently untaxed goods. The tweets breached the calm and optimism of investors that had been seeing a positive outlook on the trade talks since December. The effects on global capital markets didn’t leave us waiting.

Luckin coffee: Roasting Starbucks - June 2, 2019
Luckin Coffee, an upcoming Chinese rival to Starbucks plans to raise up to US$586.5 million at its IPO on May 17th 2019 on the NASDAQ. Adding an additional 2,900 stores in 2019, Luckin aims to overtake Starbucks and become the largest coffee network in China via number of stores. Luckin Coffee operates on a tech-based model focusing on on-demand delivery and digital orders, and uses a controversial aggressive growth strategy of free coffees and promotions that resulted in a loss of US$475 million in 2018.

Is Papa John's looking for a buyer? - May 30, 2019
On 6th May 2019, Papa John’s founder, John Schnatter, announced that he intends to sell his stake in the company. Papa John's pizza is an American restaurant that functions in the franchise regime, the fourth largest pizza delivery restaurant chain in the US. Its headquarter is located in Jeffersontown, Kentucky, although it is present at an international level.

What Apple's wearables business is telling us about the corporation - May 27, 2019
Released on April 30, Apple’s second quarter report revealed that Apple’s wearables business has seen its best quarter yet. In recent years, Apple was able to develop an extremely fast-growing business segment - the Wearables, Home and Accessories sector - that was previously considered an inconsequential contributor to total revenues. With its approximate quarterly turnover of $5 billion, this segment alone can now be considered a Fortune 200 company, according to Apple’s CEO Tim Cook.

What’s going on with Tesla? - May 24, 2019
Tesla warned shareholders that the results of the first quarter would be disappointing. Either way, the grim reality unveiled on April 24th should shock investors. On an adjusted basis, the electric car maker lost $ 2.90 a share in the quarter. Revenue of $ 4.5 billion from the fourth quarter tally fell 37 percent. After entering it with $ 3.7 billion, the company ended the quarter with $ 2.2 billion in cash.

Apple & Qualcomm finally at ease - May 21, 2019
On April 15th 2019, one of the biggest corporate law suits of recent years was ready to put itself into motion in a four-week trial that would’ve seen 30$Bn and much more put at stake. The underlying law suit is the one between Apple and Qualcomm, tech giants who have now been at war with one another since 2017.

Uber: the most anticipated IPO in years is almost here - May 18, 2019
Uber is a ride-hailing company that is set to go public in early May 2019 and will be traded in the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “UBER”. The company offers many other services by which food-delivery, electric bikes and is developing self-driving cars. The world’s largest ride-hailing company plans an initial public offering that values the firm between $80.5 billion and $91.5 billion.

A creative deal structure that will boost marijuana M&A: Canopy Growth to buy Acreage - May 16, 2019
On April 18th 2019, Canopy Growth Corp announced it would buy Acreage Holdings for a total consideration of $ 3.4 billion, upon federal legalization of marijuana in the US. Canopy Growth is a cannabis company based in Ontario listed on both the Toronto and the New York Stock exchange. The company’s main activities are the growing, possession and sale of cannabis.

Facebook moves closer to its Chinese counterpart: a super-app with cryptocurrency and a dating section - May 14, 2019
Facebook is aiming at launching in the following years a “stablecoin”, a type of cryptocurrency pegged to the US dollar which could reduce the volatility normally seen in virtual assets. The main goal of a future “FaceCoin” or “FBCoin” (the name still stays locked-in) is to facilitate the transfer of money among the users of the Facebook ecosystem, primarily through the messaging app WhatsApp.

Unicorns Trot to Market: Pinterest Down Round IPO - May 13, 2019
This year has been widely expected to be a blockbuster year for IPOs and as several startups are entering the public markets. Tech “unicorns” - privately held firms worth over $1bn - are getting the center of the attention. The venture capital darling, founded in 2010 and known for its loyal fan base that posts food home decor and wedding collages, launched its “down round” IPO earlier this month.

Brazil's Bradesco to expand its horizons - May 8, 2019
On May 5th, it was announced that Banco Bradesco SA, Brazilian bank based in St. Paulo, will start the acquisition of BAC Florida Bank paying $500 million. This will stand as the first international acquisition for them, but it has still to be approved by competent regulatory authorities of Brazil and US.

The battle for Anadarko: Chevron vs. Occidental - May 7, 2019
On April 12th, the Chevron Corporation (NYSE: CVX) announced a deal to acquire Anadarko Petroleum, an American oil exploration company. However, although Chevron and Anadarko had come to a definitive agreement, rivalling oil producer Occidental Petroleum (NYSE: OXY) announced on April 24th a similar bid to acquire Anadarko.

The Triumph of Boring Banking: Retail Saves Wall Street Banks First Quarter - May 2, 2019
“U.S. banks notched a record quarterly profit, newly released data show, a result of the new tax law, rising interest rates and an improving economy”. This was the opening line of last year’s WSJ article after the release of major Wall Street banks’ first quarter reports. One year later, the economic situation has changed and we are assisting at the triumph of boring banking.

The week after Lyft's IPO: a bumpy ride - April 25, 2019
On 29th March, the San Francisco based ride-hailing company, Lyft, went public on NASDAQ in New York, with an initial public offer of $72 per share. After a first-day 8.7% increase, the share price decreased on the following days: the article analyses the main causes behind these fluctuations.

FIS and Worldpay, another merger between two major financial technology companies. - April 24, 2019
The FinTech industry has been surely one of the most dynamic industries last year with huge investments in start-ups on record reaching a total value of $41.7 BN. Only in 2018, this industry faced a total of 349 M&A transactions and this trend does not seem to end soon. FinTech start-ups offer technology which can revolutionize how companies operate and how people interact with their bank. This business is fundamentally changing how financial services work.

Merck KGaA breaks-up Versum Materials & Entegris merger of equals - April 19, 2019
On January 28, Entegris announced its plan to merge with Versum Materials through an all-stock deal for a total value of $4Bn. The deal is structured as an exchange of old shares of the two pre-existing companies for shares of the new company (newco).

Houston, we don't have a problem here - April 18, 2019
On March 10, 2019, a Boeing 737 Max of Ethiopian Airlines from Addis Ababa to Nairobi crashed few minutes after the departure, killing 157 people. Similarities have been found with another 737 Max flight that 5 months before crashed near Indonesia. What could be the effects on such an aerospace giant?

All we know about Apple’s launch into services - April 17, 2019
Apple made waves on March 25th at its surprise event where Tim Cook, Big Bird, and Oprah all joined forces to unveil the company’s newest range of services, including a news subscription, a credit card, a gaming package and a video streaming service. Apple usually introduces hardware, but this event was different: the tech company has only introduced software this time. Many analysts consider this a turning point for Apple’s history for several reasons.

Is a revolution coming in the credit card industry? - April 15, 2019
On March 25th 2019, Apple Inc. announced the launch of Apple Card, the new credit card issued together with the finance giant Goldman Sachs Inc., that is planned for this Summer. According to Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO, the new card is going to revolutionize the current way of conceiving a credit card, and this idea is supported by David Solomon, CEO of Goldman Sachs. What pushed the two companies to team up for such a venture, and has Apple Card really what it takes to stand in front of the competition?

AT&T Takes Over Time Warner. Finally. - April 8, 2019
It is no recent news that the telecommunication giant AT&T has sealed the deal to acquire the media and entertainment conglomerate Times Warner. However, it was only recently that the last antitrust hurdles of the deal were cleared, after a federal appeals court ruled in favor of the merger and therefore marked a sound defeat for the Department of Justice.

McDonald’s Happy Meal of a US$300 Million Big Data Acquisition - April 4, 2019
On March 25th, 2019, McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE: MCD) announced the acquisition of Dynamic Yield Ltd., a personalization and decision logic technology company based in New York and Tel Aviv, Israel, for ~US$300 million. Its customers include IKEA, Urban Outfitters Inc., and Sephora.

Brazil: a recovery story (not) to learn from? - April 3, 2019
In 2014, Brazil saw the dawn of one of its worst economic crises in history. Coupled with political uncertainty, GDP decreased by 3.5% in 2015 and unemployment more than doubled to over 12%. The recession, which was combined with significant inflation, seemed to begin recovery in early 2017 and the country has seen positive growth rates since. Yet, with the election of far-right leader Bolsonaro as President and underlying political as well as economic issues remaining, the recovery has come to a near standstill.

Blackrock risk management: Acquisition of eFront - March 31, 2019
BlackRock has stepped up its risk management part of the company by acquiring “alternative” asset management industry for $1.3bn, clearly demonstrating its desire to become the lead provider of analytics for the global investment industry. BlackRock will buy eFront for 1.3bn$ from its private equity owner Bridgepoint.

Can Haven revolutionise the US health care system? - March 28, 2019
In January 2018, a joint venture between Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway, and JPMorgan Chase was announced with the intention of reviving the US health care sector. Now, the endeavour has officially been established; it has been named ‘Haven’ and is currently headed by Dr. Atul Gawande and other prominent managers of the health care sector.

Levi’s is coming back to Wall Street - March 26, 2019
Levi Strauss made an initial public offering Thursday morning, marking the second Wall Street debut for the iconic jeans maker in its 166-year history. The stock - traded under the ticker LEVI - has enjoyed a great deal of enthusiasm by investors, with a 32% over-performance with respect to expectations two hours after market opening, trading at $22.50.

Bayer’s legal misfortunes - The Roundup case - March 24, 2019
On Tuesday, a US federal court in San Francisco unanimously ruled that Roundup, a best-selling weed killer produced by Monsanto, company acquired by Bayer in a $63bn deal last summer, had been a “substantial factor” in causing the cancer of California resident Edwin Hardeman.

Another move towards the hotel business: AirBnb acquires HotelTonight - March 17, 2019
On March 7th 2019, Airbnb announced to have reached an agreement to acquire the last minute hotels booking app HotelTonight. Although the financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed, this deal could represent the largest acquisition completed by the San Francisco-based company.

Lyft IPO: Will the first ride-hailing company listing be a success? - March 15, 2019
On March 1, Lyft disclosed its S-1 filing, revealing its IPO plans and kicking off what is expected to be a memorable year for Silicon Valley listings, both in terms of value and number of IPOs. The company is planning to start the roadshow on March 18 and is expected to debut on NASDAQ by the end of March under the stock symbol LYFT, becoming the first U.S. publicly traded ride-hailing company.

Tesla keeps up the surprise game for investors - March 7, 2019
The two weeks ending on March 3rd have been quite interesting and, at times, frustrating for Tesla investors. Lots of consecutive events affected Tesla’s stock and, it is evident that stock price has been volatile since the start of last week.

What might an 8% fall in its stock price mean for Coca-Cola stakeholders? - February 26, 2019
Coca-Cola’s stock price plummeted on Thursday February 14th by more than 8%, marking its worst drop since the 2008 financial crisis. Late 2018, Coca-Cola announced that the macroeconomic growth available in 2019 is expected to be weaker than in 2018 (only 4%), a notable outlier given its usual annual growth rate of 5-10%. Even Coca-Cola’s CEO James Quincey, feels that this year will “be more volatile and uncertain than 2018”.

J.P. Morgan launches the first bank-based cryptocurrency - February 22, 2019
J.P. Morgan Chase will be the first major U.S. bank to create its own cryptocurrency. In trials set to start in a few months, a tiny fraction of the $6 trillion the bank lends to corporations will be processed over something called 'JPM Coin.'

Morgan Stanley in search of the new generation of millionaires: the acquisition of Solium Capital - February 21, 2019
On February 11, Morgan Stanley announced that has reached a definitive agreement to acquire Solium Capital Inc. - the Canadian stock plan administrator - in a $900 million deal. It is the biggest corporate acquisition by a Wall Street investment bank since the financial crisis and it is aimed to create a leading provider of stock plan administration services and Workplace Wealth.

A true merger of equals: BB&T and SunTrust to create the US sixth-largest bank - February 20, 2019
On February 7th 2019, BB&T agreed to buy SunTrust for an all-stock consideration of $ 28.2 billion, creating a bank with a combined market value of $ 66 billion. According to the two regional lenders involved, the combined company will be the United States’ sixth-largest lender with approximately $ 442 billion in assets, $ 301 billion in loans and $ 324 billion in deposits.

Bristol-Myers Squibb to acquire Celgene in record-breaking pharma deal - February 17, 2019
In January, the pharmaceutical company Bristol-Myers Squibb announced a $74 billion deal to acquire Celgene. The agreement, if signed-off by antitrust regulators, would become one of the largest pharmaceutical acquisitions in history and marks a significant development in cancer research efforts.

How the personal business of Amazon's CEO is affecting the company - February 13, 2019
After Jeff Bezos and wife MacKenzie announced their divorce in early January, the market has been wondering what the future for the world’s most valuable company would be like.

What is behind GE's astonishing fall? - December 7, 2018
In June, General Electric lost its spot in the Dow Jones Industrial Average after 122 years. Only three months later, the first outsider to run GE was nominated, highlighting how the company is desperately trying to accelerate a substantial revamp. In the meanwhile, its market cap- which only a decade and a half ago marked it as the world’s most valuable public company – plunged to less than $65bn. So, what happened?

Uber in talks to acquire Deliveroo - December 6, 2018
Last year, Deliveroo raised $482 million in venture funding, in a deal valuing the company at around $2 billion. Why is Deliveroo trying to raise so much cash? It is supposedly an effort to strengthen its hand for prospective negotiations with Uber by increasing its valuation.
As a matter of fact, Uber is targeting the UK’s food delivery market with plans to link up with Deliveroo.

Asset Management: a long-term heaven with short-term troubles - December 6, 2018
The industry is facing a transition period following the longest bullish stock market the US have ever seen. Furthermore, the enhanced disruptive force of artificial intelligence and other innovative portfolio management strategies will be the key to perform and survive to an incredibly competitive environment.

The prospects of Natural Gas and the hidden player to watch - December 5, 2018
US Natural Gas prices rose 18% last Wednesday (the largest one-day gain in eight years) as the start of winter stress-tests the ability of shale gas production to supply the country over the coming months. The rise suggests concerns that winter heating demand may draw heavily on stocks of US gas in storage that now remain at 3.2tn cubic feet, the lowest in more than a decade for the start of the winter.

Midterms are over. What’s next? - December 5, 2018
As Benjamin Graham used to say, "the market is a voting machine in the short term and a weiging machine in the long term". In the aftermath of the midterm elections, the market voted to reward stocks, with a rally bringing the S&P500 and Dow Jones well above a 2% gain immediately following the elections, and as of today, both indexes are finally up more than 3% on a yearly basis.

IBM to buy Red Hat. Who said Elephants can't dance (again)? - December 4, 2018
On October 28, 2018, IBM announced the definitive agreement to buy Red Hat, the open source software solutions provider, in a $34bn all-cash takeover. The deal is IBM’s largest acquisition in its 107-year history and represents a strategic gamble from Ginni Rometty, Chairman and CEO, to reboot the historic tech giant.

Warren Buffett believes in J.P. Morgan - December 3, 2018
The stock price (well above $300,000) is not Berkshire's only peculiarity. For instance, Mr. Buffett is known for its unique investment strategy of directing funds only to companies that he fully understands. And banking is certainly an industry that the Nebraskan billionaire knows well.

Brace yourselves for the Tech IPO year - November 30, 2018
Regarding IPOs, 2019 will definitely be very interesting. While wondering whether prices are going to climb any further, investors will also face a flood of tech mega-listings. Actually, next year is likely to become the most prolific one in the century in terms of number of tech companies going public, even better than 2015.

Elliott and Veritas to buy Athenahealth in latest take-private megadeal - November 29, 2018
On November 12, Private Equity firm Veritas Capital and Hedge Fund Elliott Management announced their intention of buying Athenahealth Inc. for $135 per share, valuing the company at about $5.7 billion. The combined company will keep the Athenahealth name, and will be led by Virence CEO Bob Segert.

J.P. Morgan winks at Silicon Valley - November 20, 2018
“Silicon Valley is coming to Wall Street”, Jamie Dimon, CEO of J.P. Morgan, anticipated in 2015. Now, three years later, J.P. Morgan is moving to Silicon Valley.

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.

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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.

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.

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.

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.