The Singapore-based ride-hailing service Grab aims to defend its Southeast Asia home turf from Uber by setting a goal to raise $1 billion in its latest funding round, adding to its valuation of $1.6 billion. The markets are heading into the weekend, but the Sentifi crowd is still buzzing with discussions and insights about financial events. So read on.
1/ Grab: Aims to raise $1 billion
Grab is confidence that it can beat Uber on home turf with the latest round of funding. The company’s goal is to raise $1 billion, and it has got $600 million from China’s Didi Chuxing and Japan’s SoftBank Group. The CEO of the company, Anthony Tan, also plans to expand Grab into the mobile payments and delivery territories.
2/ Zynga Inc: Shares fall 9 percent on weak quarterly earnings
The social game developer Zynga just posted a net loss of $4.4 million for the second quarter of 2016, an abysmal number that dragged down the shares 9 percent in after-hours trading. As bad as it is, the result is actually better than the expectations from the analysts. In the coming months, the company looks to tighten its operating model and improve the cost management.
3/ Rackspace Host Inc: Shares soar on M&A report
Rackspace shares just reached the highest in more than two years after reports said a private-equity firm is close to acquiring it. The company is currently struggling in an increasingly competitive market, and it’s been in talks with several private-equity firms.
4/ Tax Reform: India’s tax reform is a sign of hope
India’s latest tax reform will make it easier to do business in the country, further turning India into an attractive location for business. The reform will replace 11 state and central levies into a national sales tax which will reduce business transaction costs and create a single market.
5/ Aviva: Fund management arm increases profits by 48 percent YoY
The first half of 2016 has been great for Aviva, with £49 million of operating profit and operating profit increasing 13 percent to £1.3 billion. The company said the U.K. business has delivered great results, but it still aims for diversity in investments. 42 percent of its earnings came from outside of the U.K.
6/ Quant Easing: Bank of England expands quantitative easing
A new monetary stimulus package for the post-Brexit U.K. has been announced by the Bank of England, which sees the interest rates drop and the quantitative easing expand. The interest rates will now sit at 0.25 percent, and a fresh round of QE will put £70 billion into the current £375 billion program.
7/ BOE: Cuts the rates further
The central bank of the U.K. has cut the interest rates down to 0.25 percent from its historical low of 0.5 percent. The unemployment rate also fell to a record low of 4.9 percent.
8/ Siemens: Lifts annual earnings forecast
The recent booming demand for renewables has helped Siemens improve the earnings forecast for this financial year. The company now expects profits per share to be between 6.50 and 6.70 euros, compared to the previous forecast of 6.0 to 6.40 euros.
9/ Time Inc: Cuts annual revenue forecast amid print declines
As the print market continues to prove troublesome, Time Inc. saw its shares slide 8.4 percent when it reported lower-than-expected quarterly revenue. The only bright spot of the company is the growth in digital advertising revenue, but it’s not enough to bring the company out of the slump. It now expects to incur $35 million in restructuring costs.
10/ Ladbrokes: Operating profits increase 34 percent during the first half of the year
The U.K. gambling group returned to profit in the first half of the year thanks to the European Championship and the Premier League. The company is also inching closer to a £2.2 billion merger with Gala Coral.
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