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Business

Adani abandons $2.5 billion share sale in big blow to Indian tycoon

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NEW DELHI, Feb 1 (Reuters) – Gautam Adani’s flagship firm called off its $2.5 billion share sale in a dramatic reversal on Wednesday as a rout sparked by a U.S. short-seller’s criticisms wiped billions more off the value of the Indian tycoon’s stocks.

The withdrawal of the Adani Enterprises (ADEL.NS) share offering marks a stunning setback for Adani, the school dropout-turned-billionaire whose fortunes rose rapidly in recent years in line with stock values of his businesses.

“Today the market has been unprecedented, and our stock price has fluctuated over the course of the day. Given these extraordinary circumstances, the Company’s board felt that going ahead with the issue will not be morally correct,” Adani said.

“Our balance sheet is very healthy with strong cashflows and secure assets, and we have an impeccable track record of servicing our debt. This decision will not have any impact on our existing operations and future plans,” the billionaire added in a statement to Indian exchanges.

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Adani, whose global business interests span ports, airports, mining, cement and power, is battling to stabilise his companies and defend his reputation.

“Once the market stabilizes, we will review our capital market strategy,” he added.

A report by Hindenburg Research last week alleged improper use by the of offshore tax havens and stock manipulation by the Adani Group. It also raised concerns about high debt and the valuations of seven listed Adani companies.

The Jan. 24 report has since triggered a $86 billion erosion in market capitalisation of seven listed Adani Group companies.

Adani Group has denied the allegations, saying the short-seller’s allegation of stock manipulation has “no basis” and stems from an ignorance of Indian law. The group has always made the necessary regulatory disclosures, it added.

REFUNDS

Adani Group was working with its bankers to refund the proceeds received by in the secondary share sale of Adani Enterprises. Anchor investors who had supported the issue included Maybank Securities and Abu Dhabi Investment Authority.

The company aims to protect the interests of its investing community by returning the proceeds, it said.

Adani Group had on Tuesday mustered enough support from investors for the share sale to proceed, in what some saw as a stamp of investor confidence amid the storm.

But after a brief respite, the selloff in Adani Group stocks and bonds resumed on Wednesday, with shares in Adani Enterprises plunging 28% and Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSE.NS) dropping 19%, the worst day on record for both.

The fundraising was critical for Adani, not just because it would have helped cut his group’s debt, but also because it was being seen by some as a gauge of confidence as he faced the biggest business and reputational challenge of his career.

Wednesday’s stock losses saw Adani slip to 15th on the Forbes rich list with an estimated net worth of $75.1 billion, below rival Mukesh Ambani, the chairman of Reliance Industries (RELI.NS) who ranks ninth with a net worth of $83.7 billion.

The share sale had succeeded on Tuesday even when the Adani Enterprises stock price in Mumbai markets traded below the offer price of the share sale.

“I do not know how the markets will behave in short term. But this is a measure to enhance (Adani’s) reputation since the investors were staring at a 30% loss even before the shares were alloted,” said Rajesh Baheti, chief executive, Crossseas Capital Services, an algo trading firm.

Reporting by Aditya Kalra and Jahnavi Nidumolu in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D’Silva, Kirsten Donovan and Alexander Smith

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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Business

Unilever names former Heinz exec Schumacher as CEO

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  • To become CEO July 1
  • Activist shareholder says met Schumacher when at Heinz
  • First outsider CEO since Paul Polman appointed in 2008
  • Unilever shares outpace FTSE 100

LONDON, Jan 30 (Reuters) – Unilever on Monday appointed Hein Schumacher to replace Alan Jope as chief executive from July in a move that was welcomed by investors including board member and activist shareholder Nelson Peltz.

Schumacher, 51, rejoined Unilever in October last year as non-executive director and is currently the chief of Dutch dairy business FrieslandCampina.

He worked at Unilever more than 20 years ago before working for retailer Royal Ahold NV and packaged food maker H.J. Heinz in the United States, Europe and Asia.

One of the biggest consumer companies in the world with more than 400 brands ranging from detergent to ice cream, Unilever said in September said that Jope planned to retire at the end of 2023.

Billionaire activist investor Nelson Peltz, who heads investor Trian Partners, said he strongly supports Schumacher “as our new CEO and look(s) forward to working closely with him to drive significant sustainable stakeholder value.”

Peltz become a Unilever board member in July after it was revealed early last year that he had built a stake in the company.

“I first met Hein when I served as a director at the H.J. Heinz Company from 2006 to 2013 and was impressed by his leadership skills and business acumen,” Peltz said.

Peltz, through his Trian Fund, holds a nearly 1.5% stake in Unilever, making him the fourth largest shareholder, according to Refinitiv Eikon data.

Unilever shares were up 0.56% versus a FTSE 100 (.FTSE) index down 0.1% as of 1032 GMT.

The move was also cheered by other investors and analysts, who have felt in recent years that Unilever needed an outsider’s touch.

“Positive that he’s an external appointment,” Jack Martin, a fund manager at Unilever shareholder Oberon Investments, said. “Good CV from what I read, hopefully provides the impetus the company requires.”

‘ESG SAVVY, PRAGMATIC’

Unilever’s shares have underperformed European consumer staples and discretionary indices during CEO Jope’s tenure, which began in January 2019.

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His failed bids for GlaxoSmithKline’s (GSK.L) consumer healthcare business last year lost him some good faith among investors, including influential British billionaire Terry Smith, owner of Fundsmith.

Smith said at the time that Jope needed to focus less on sustainbility and more on building Unilever’s core business.

“Hein is ideal for Unilever — he’s got roots at the company but at the same time he’s external,” Allan Leighton, former CEO of British food retailer Asda and ex-chair of Britain’s Royal Mail, told Reuters.

Leighton, who worked with Schumacher on the board of C&A AG, described him as “ESG savvy but in a pragmatic and commercial way.”

Tineke Frikee, a fund manager at Unilever shareholder Waverton Investment Management, said: “It is good Schumacher has plenty of industry experience outside Unilever, particularly international.”

“I note though that his background is mainly in food, rather than beauty and personal care. This may lead the market to reduce the probability of a potential food spin-off.”

Unilever’s food business includes Ben & Jerry’s ice cream, Colman’s mustard, Hellman’s mayonnaise and Knorr stock cubes.

Some investors and analysts have speculated over the past year that Unilever might spin off what they feel is a weaker food business to focus on personal goods, beauty and home care.

“Why hire a food exec, if you are planning to sell the food business?” Bernstein analyst Bruno Monteyne said, adding that selling the food business “will always be on the cards, but I doubt that it is top priority in the short term.”

But Monteyne pointed out that some investors were hoping Unilever would name someone more well-established, globally.

“Investors we spoke to in recent weeks were hopeful for a more familiar name from a successful U.S.-based FMCG (fast-moving consumer goods) turnaround.”

Unilever had been considering internal and external candidates for the role.

Sources told Reuters in October that the candidates included finance chief Graeme Pitkethly, personal care division boss Fabian Garcia and Hanneke Faber, who heads the company’s nutrition group.

Reporting by Yadarisa Shabong and Richa Naidu; editing by Matt Scuffham and Jason Neely

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Richa Naidu

Thomson Reuters

London-based reporter covering retail and consumer goods, analysing trends including coverage of supply chains, advertising strategies, corporate governance, sustainability, politics and regulation. Previously wrote about U.S. based retailers, major financial institutions and covered the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

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Business

Adani’s $2.5 billion share sale faces crucial day after rout

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NEW DELHI, Jan 29 (Reuters) – Gautam Adani faces a critical day on Monday with his flagship company’s $2.5 billion share sale’s second day of bidding overshadowed by a $48 billion rout in the Indian billionaire’s stocks which was sparked by a U.S. short seller’s report.

Seven listed companies belonging to the Adani conglomerate, which is led by Asia’s richest man, saw sharp falls in their values after Hindenburg Research report last week flagged concerns about high debt levels and the use of tax havens.

Adani Group issued a detailed response late on Sunday, saying it complies with all local laws and had made necessary regulatory disclosures. It has called the report baseless and said it was considering taking action against Hindenburg.

For 60-year-old Adani, the stock market meltdown has been a dramatic setback for a school-dropout who rose swiftly in recent years to become the world’s third richest man, before slipping to rank seventh on the Forbes list last week.

The secondary share sale by Adani Enterprises (ADEL.NS) opened for retail and institutional investors on Friday, but saw only 1% subscriptions as the company’s stock fell 11% below the minimum offer price.

Adani Group told Reuters in a statement on Saturday that the sale remains on schedule at the planned issue price, even as sources said bankers on the country’s largest secondary share sale were considering extending the timeline beyond Jan. 31, or tweaking the price due to the fall in its share price.

“It is important for the Adani Group to ensure the share sale goes through — If they stick to the price and don’t reduce it, and the stock doesn’t bounce back, nobody will be keen to apply,” said Mumbai-based market analyst, Ambareesh Baliga, who advises various family offices.

“Monday’s trade will be critical.”

In a separate statement on Sunday, Adani Group’s chief financial officer Jugeshinder Singh said it is focused on the share sale and is confident it will sail through. He also said its anchor investors have shown faith and remain invested.

‘FREE FALL’

Some Adani Group stocks have surged more than 1,500% in the last three years amid aggressive expansion in businesses that include ports, power generation, airports and mining.

Adani Enterprises has set a floor price of 3,112 rupees per share and a cap of 3,276 rupees for the secondary share sale – well above their close of 2,761.45 rupees on Friday.

Arun Kejriwal, founder of Kejriwal Research & Investment, said investors were likely to wait until the last day of the share sale to see if the price band is tweaked.

“I expect that the free fall seen of Friday may abate but recovery back towards a level prior to this fall may be difficult,” he added.

Indian regulations say the share offering must receive minimum subscription of 90%, and if it does not the issuer must refund the entire amount.

Maybank Securities and Abu Dhabi Investment Authority are among investors who bid for the anchor portion of the issue.

On Saturday, index provider MSCI said it was seeking feedback from market participants on Adani and was monitoring the factors that “may impact the eligibility of those relevant securities” in MSCI indexes.

There are at least six Adani Group companies in the MSCI India Index, with a cumulative weight of 4.31%.

Reporting by Aditya Kalra, Ira Dugal, Jayshree P Upadhyay and Chris Thomas; Editing by Alexander Smith

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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Business

Adani hits back at Hindenburg, says it made all disclosures

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  • Adani issues 413-page rebuttal to Hindenburg report
  • U.S. short-seller’s report sparked falls in Adani shares
  • Adani says complies with laws, necessary disclosures
  • Adani CFO confident $2.5 bln share sale will succeed

NEW DELHI, Jan 30 (Reuters) – India’s Adani Group issued a detailed riposte on Sunday to a Hindenburg Research report that sparked a $48 billion rout in its stocks, saying it complies with all local laws and had made the necessary regulatory disclosures.

The conglomerate led by Asia’s richest man, the Indian billionaire Gautam Adani, said last week’s Hindenburg report was intended to enable the U.S.-based short seller to book gains, without citing evidence.

For 60-year-old Adani, the stock market meltdown has been a dramatic setback for a school-dropout who rose swiftly in recent years to become the world’s third richest man, before slipping last week to rank seventh on the Forbes rich list.

Adani Group’s response comes as its flagship company, Adani Enterprises (ADEL.NS), pushes ahead with a $2.5 billion share sale. This has been overshadowed by Hindenburg’s report, which flagged concerns about debt levels and the use of tax havens.

“All transactions entered into by us with entities who qualify as ‘related parties’ under Indian laws and accounting standards have been duly disclosed by us,” Adani said in the 413-page response issued late on Sunday.

“This is rife with conflict of interest and intended only to create a false market in securities to enable Hindenburg, an admitted short seller, to book massive financial gain through wrongful means at the cost of countless investors,” it added.

Hindenburg did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the Adani response on Sunday.

Its report had questioned how the Adani Group has used offshore entities in tax havens such as Mauritius and the Caribbean islands, adding that certain offshore funds and shell companies “surreptitiously” own stock in Adani’s listed firms.

The research report, Adani said, made “misleading claims around offshore entities” without any evidence whatsoever.

Adani said on Thursday that it is considering taking action against Hindenburg, which responded on the same day by saying it would welcome such a move.

Hindenburg’s report also said five of seven key listed Adani companies have reported current ratios, a measure of liquid assets minus near-term liabilities, of below 1 which it said suggested “a heightened short-term liquidity risk”.

It said key listed Adani companies had “substantial debt” which has put the entire group on a “precarious financial footing” and that shares in seven Adani listed companies have an 85% downside due to what it called “sky-high valuations”.

Adani’s response stated that over the past decade, its group companies have “consistently de-levered”.

Defending its practice on pledging shares of its promoters – or key shareholders – the Adani Group said that raising financing against shares as collateral was common practice globally and loans are given by large institutions and banks on the back of thorough credit analysis.

The group added there is a robust disclosure system in place in India and its promoter pledge positions across portfolio companies had dropped from more than 50% in March 2020 in some listed stocks, to less than 20% in December 2022.

‘SAIL THROUGH’

The Hindenburg report, and its fallout, is seen as one of the biggest career challenges to face the billionaire, whose business interests range from ports, airports, mining and power to media and cement.

Adani’s response included more than 350 pages of annexes that included snippets from annual reports, public disclosures and earlier court rulings.

Hindenburg, Adani said, had sought answers to 88 questions in its report, but 65 of them were related to matters that have been disclosed by Adani portfolio companies in annual reports.

The rest, Adani said, relate to public shareholders and third parties, and some were “baseless allegations based on imaginary fact patterns”.

Hindenburg, known for having shorted electric truck maker Nikola Corp (NKLA.O) and Twitter, said it holds short positions in Adani companies through U.S.-traded bonds and non-Indian-traded derivative instruments.

Adani also responded to allegations by Hindenburg relating to the company’s auditors, saying “all these auditors who have been engaged by us have been duly certified and qualified by the relevant statutory bodies.”

Its response comes just hours ahead of India market opening, when the $2.5 billion secondary share sale begins its second day of subscription. Friday’s plunge took Adani Enterprises shares below the issue price, raising doubts about its success.

In a separate statement on Sunday, Adani Group’s chief financial officer Jugeshinder Singh said it is focused on the share sale and is confident it will succeed. He also said its anchor investors have shown faith and remain invested.

“We are confident the FPO (follow-on public offering) will also sail through,” he said.

Reporting by Aditya Kalra, Aditi Shah, Jayshree Upadhyay and Anirudh Saligrama in Bengaluru; Editing by Kevin Liffey and Alexander Smith

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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Business

Wall Street surges, powered by tech rebound

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  • Baker Hughes falls on missing Q4 profit estimates
  • Activist investor Elliott Management takes stake in Salesforce
  • Chips on track for biggest daily gain since Nov
  • Indexes up: Dow 0.98%, S&P 1.41%, Nasdaq 2.09%,

NEW YORK, Jan 23 (Reuters) – Wall Street surged on Monday, led higher by technology stocks as investors embarked on an earnings-heavy week with a renewed enthusiasm for market leading momentum stocks that were battered last year.

All three major stock indexes extended Friday’s rally, gaining momentum as the day progressed. The tech-heavy Nasdaq was out front, boosted by a 4.9% jump in semiconductor shares (.SOX).

“This is a remarkable rally in many of the names that did badly last year,” said Robert Pavlik, senior portfolio manager at Dakota Wealth in Fairfield, Connecticut. “No one wants to be watching from the sideline with a bunch a cash as the market gets away from them.”

The session marks a calm before the storm in a week jam-packed with high profile earnings reports and back-end loaded with crucial economic data.

Investors are all but certain the Federal Reserve implement a bite-sized interest rate hike next week even as the U.S. central bank remains committed to taming the hottest inflationary cycle in decades.

Financial markets have priced in a 99.8% likelihood of a 25 basis point hike to the Fed funds target rate at the conclusion of its two-day monetary policy meeting next Wednesday, according to CME’s FedWatch tool.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) rose 328.17 points, or 0.98%, to 33,703.66, the S&P 500 (.SPX) gained 55.93 points, or 1.41%, to 4,028.54 and the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) added 232.84 points, or 2.09%, to 11,373.28.

All 11 major sectors in the S&P 500 were higher, with tech (.SPLRCT) up the most, jumping 2.8%.

Fourth-quarter reporting season has shifted into overdrive, with 57 of the companies in the S&P 500 having posted results. Of those, 63% have delivered better than expected earnings, according to Refinitiv.

Analysts now see S&P 500 fourth quarter earnings, on aggregate, dropping 3% year-on-year, nearly twice as steep as the 1.6% annual drop seen at the beginning of the year, per Refinitiv.

This week, Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) and Tesla Inc , along with a spate of heavy-hitting industrials including Boeing CO (BA.N), 3M Co (MMM.N), Union Pacific Corp (UNP.N) Dow Inc (DOW.N), Northrop Grumman Corp (NOC.N), are expected to post quarterly results.

Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) surged 7.8% as Chief Executive Elon Musk took the stand in his fraud trial related to a tweet saying he had backing to take the electric automaker private.

Baker Hughes Co (BKR.O) missed quarterly profit estimates due to inflation pressures and ongoing disruptions due to Russia’s war on Ukraine. The oilfield services company’s shares were off 0.9%.

Cloud-based software firm Salesforce Inc (CRM.N) jumped 3.1% following news that activist investor Elliot Management Corp has taken a multi-billion dollar stake in the company.

Spotify Technology SA (SPOT.N) joined the growing list of tech-related companies to announce impending job cuts, shedding 6% of its workforce as rising interest rates and the looming possibility of recession continue to pressure growth stocks. The music streaming company’s shares rose 2.1%.

On the economic front, the Commerce Department is expected to unveil its initial “advance” take on fourth-quarter GDP in Thursday, which analysts expect to land at 2.5%.

On Friday, the wide-ranging personal consumption expenditures (PCE) report is due to shed light on consumer spending, income growth, and crucially, inflation.

Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a 3.53-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.95-to-1 ratio favored advancers.

The S&P 500 posted 11 new 52-week highs and no new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 66 new highs and 14 new lows.

Reporting by Stephen Culp; Additional reporting by Shreyashi Sanyal and Johann M Cherian in Bengaluru
Editing by Marguerita Choy

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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Goldman misses profit estimates as dealmaking slumps, consumer business hit

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Jan 17 (Reuters) – Goldman Sachs Group Inc (GS.N) on Tuesday reported a bigger-than-expected 69% drop in fourth-quarter profit as it struggled with a slump in dealmaking, a drop in asset and wealth management revenue and booked losses at its consumer business.

Wall Street banks are making deep cuts to their workforce and streamlining their operations as dealmaking activity, their major source of revenue, stalls on worries over a weakening global economy and rising interest rates.

Goldman is also curbing its consumer banking ambitions as Chief Executive Officer David Solomon refocuses the bank’s resources on strengthening its core businesses such as investment banking and trading.

Solomon confirmed that the bank was cutting 6% of its headcount, or around 3,200 jobs, and was making changes to the consumer business to navigate an uncertain outlook for 2023.

“We tried to do too much too quickly,” he said about the consumer business such as its direct-to-consumer unit Marcus. “We didn’t execute perfectly on some so we’ve taken a hard look at those, and you make adjustments.”

Goldman reported a net loss of $660 million at its platform solutions unit, which houses transaction banking, credit card and financial technology businesses, as provisions for credit losses grew while the business was expanding.

Full-year net loss for the platform solutions business was $1.67 billion, the bank said, even though net revenue of $1.50 billion for 2022 was 135% above 2021.

Goldman on Tuesday confirmed that it is planning to stop making unsecured consumer loans after it moved Marcus into its asset and wealth management arm. The checking account launch for Marcus has also been postponed.

Goldman’s investment banking fees fell 48% in the latest quarter, while revenue from its asset and wealth management unit dropped 27% due to lower revenue from equity and debt investments.

Solomon said the investment banking outlook could be better in the “back half” of 2023, as people are softening their views on the economic outlook for this year.

Shares were down nearly 7% at $347.66 in midday trade.

[1/2] The logo for Goldman Sachs is seen on the trading floor at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, New York, U.S., November 17, 2021. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly

Reuters Graphics Reuters Graphics

GROWING COSTS

Wall Street’s biggest banks have stockpiled more rainy-day funds to prepare for a possible recession, while showing caution about forecasting income growth in an uncertain economy and as higher rates increase competition for deposits.

Total operating expenses at Goldman rose 11% to $8.1 billion in the quarter. A source told Reuters last week that the bank would lay off 3,000 employees in an attempt to rein in costs.

Goldman Chief Financial Officer Denis Coleman said severance charges will be adjusted in 2023.

The bank reported a profit of $1.19 billion, or $3.32 per share, for the three months ended Dec. 31, missing the Street estimate of $5.48, according to Refinitiv IBES data.

“Widely expected to be awful, Goldman Sachs’ Q4 results were even more miserable than anticipated,” said Octavio Marenzi, CEO of consultancy Opimas.

“The real problem lies in the fact that operating expenses shot up 11% while revenues tumbled. This strongly suggests more cost cutting and layoffs are going to come,” he added.

Goldman’s trading business was a bright spot as it benefited from heightened market volatility, spurred by the Federal Reserve’s quantitative tightening.

Fixed income, currency and commodities trading revenue was up 44% while revenue from equities trading fell 5%.

Overall net revenue was down 16% at $10.6 billion.

Reporting by Niket Nishant and Noor Zainab Hussain in Bengaluru and Saeed Azhar in New York; Additional reporting by Bansari Mayur Kamdar; Editing by Anil D’Silva and Mark Porter

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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Bed Bath & Beyond preparing to file bankruptcy within weeks -sources

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Jan 5 (Reuters) – Bed Bath & Beyond Inc (BBBY.O) is preparing to seek bankruptcy protection in coming weeks, people familiar with the matter said, following poor sales and an inability to compete with large online and big-box retailers.

The U.S. home goods retailer is considering skipping debt payments due Feb. 1, one of the sources said, a typical move distressed companies on the verge of bankruptcy take to conserve cash.

Shares of the retailer, once a category killer in products like small appliances and bed sheets, ended down 30% on Thursday at $1.69 after the company said it expected to report a significant third-quarter loss and that there was substantial doubt about its ability to continue as a going concern.

The company said it was exploring a range of options to address its plunging sales that included declaring bankruptcy. The retailer said it has not made any final decisions on which course to take.

Bed Bath & Beyond had no immediate comment on any bankruptcy preparations beyond its disclosure on Thursday.

The company has interest payments on roughly $1.5 billion of bonds due Feb. 1, according to securities filings. The company is considering skipping the payout to conserve cash, which would likely trigger a 30-day grace period before the company officially defaults, the people said.

Troubled retailers often seek bankruptcy protection following the holiday season to take advantage of the cash cushion provided by recent sales. Should the company seek bankruptcy protection, it would likely seek financing from existing creditors to help it navigate a court restructuring, one of the people said.

The retailer’s fortunes soured after it pursued a strategy focused on its own private label goods. Management has since reversed course to bring in national brands shoppers recognized.

But on Thursday, signs emerged that this strategy too has failed to take off with the company reporting that it expects to post a loss of $385.5 million after sales plunged 33% for the quarter ending Nov. 26, due to lower customer traffic and reduced levels of inventory availability among other factors.

The company is scheduled to report its full third quarter results on Tuesday.

“The turnaround plan put in place last year is not working. … Put bluntly, the business is moving at rapid speed in the wrong direction with bankruptcy the most likely destination,” GlobalData analyst Neil Saunders said.

Bed Bath & Beyond has enlisted turnaround and consulting firm AlixPartners LLP to help advise on options for addressing its financial woes, people familiar with the matter said.

In addition to AlixPartners, the company is being advised by restructuring lawyers at Kirkland & Ellis LLP and investment bankers at Lazard Ltd (LAZ.N), one of the people said.

AlixPartners and Lazard declined to comment. Kirkland did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In a statement to Reuters late on Thursday, Bed Bath & Beyond said it was “working with strategic advisors to evaluate all paths to regain market share and enhance liquidity” but could not comment further on specific relationships.

The company became a meme stock last year when its shares soared more than 400%. Activist investor Ryan Cohen, the chairman of GameStop Corp (GME.N), took a stake in Bed Bath & Beyond, which he later sold, sending shares crashing.

Bed Bath & Beyond in its prior financial update in the fall said it had liquidity of $850 million but had burned through $325 million in the second quarter.

The company had also been asking bondholders to swap out their holdings for new debt to give it more breathing room to turn around its business but canceled the deal on Thursday after not getting much interest from investors, according to filings made with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Bed Bath & Beyond had earlier considered selling its valuable buybuy Baby stores that sell goods for infants and toddlers but held off in the hopes it could later fetch a higher price, Reuters reported.

buybuy Baby is the “crown jewel” asset of the company and would likely generate the most interest from buyers in case the parent company decides to sell it as part of its restructuring efforts, Michael Baker, senior research analyst at DA Davidson said, without providing a valuation on the business.

The value of the chain helped the retailer ink a $375 million loan last year, the maximum amount it could borrow.

Reporting by Aishwarya Venugopal in Bengaluru and Siddharth Cavale in New York ; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta, Subhranshu Sahu, Mark Porter and Anna Driver

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Jessica DiNapoli

Thomson Reuters

New York-based reporter covering U.S. consumer products spanning from paper towels to packaged food, the companies that make them and how they’re responding to the economy. Previously reported on corporate boards and distressed companies.

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Business

Foxconn apologises for pay-related error at China iPhone plant after worker unrest

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  • Foxconn says it is working with staff to resolve disputes
  • Major iPhone factory rocked by protests over pay, conditions
  • Apple says it has team on the ground in Zhengzhou

TAIPEI/SHANGHAI, Nov 24 (Reuters) – Foxconn (2317.TW) said on Thursday a pay-related “technical error” occurred when hiring new recruits at a COVID-hit iPhone factory in China and apologised to workers after the company was rocked by fresh labour unrest.

Men smashed surveillance cameras and clashed with security personnel as hundreds of workers protested at the world’s biggest iPhone plant in Zhengzhou city on Wednesday, in rare scenes of open dissent in China sparked by claims of overdue pay and frustration over severe COVID-19 restrictions.

Workers said on videos circulated on social media that they had been informed that the Apple Inc (AAPL.O) supplier intended to delay bonus payments. Some workers also complained they were forced to share dormitories with colleagues who had tested positive for COVID.

“Our team has been looking into the matter and discovered a technical error occurred during the onboarding process,” Foxconn said in a statement, referring to the hiring of new workers.

“We apologize for an input error in the computer system and guarantee that the actual pay is the same as agreed and the official recruitment posters.” It did not elaborate on the error.

The apology was an about-face from a day earlier when Foxconn said it had fulfilled its payment contracts.

The unrest comes at a time when China is logging record numbers of COVID-19 infections and grappling with more and more lockdowns that have fuelled frustration among citizens across the country. But it has also exposed communication problems and a mistrust of Foxconn management among some staff.

The largest protests had died down and the company was communicating with employees engaged in smaller protests, a Foxconn source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Thursday.

The person said the company had reached “initial agreements” with employees to resolve the dispute and production at the plant was continuing.

Mounting worker discontent over COVID outbreaks, strict quarantine rules and shortages of food had seen many employees flee the enclosed factory campus since October after management implemented a so-called closed-loop system that isolated the plant from the wider world.

Many of new recruits had been hired to replace the workers who had fled – estimated by some former staff to number thousands.

The Taiwanese company said it would respect the wishes of new recruits who wanted to resign and leave the factory campus, and would offer them “care subsidies”. The Foxconn source said the subsidies amounted to 10,000 yuan ($1,400) per worker.

APPLE RISKS

Home to over 200,000 workers, Foxconn’s Zhengzhou plant has dormitories, restaurants, basketball courts and a football pitch across its sprawling roughly 1.4 million square metre facility.

The factory makes Apple devices including the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max, and accounts for 70% of iPhone shipments globally.

Reuters Graphics Reuters Graphics

Apple said it had staff at the factory and was “working closely with Foxconn to ensure their employees’ concerns are addressed”.

Several shareholder activists told Reuters the protests showed the risks Apple faces through its reliance on manufacturing in China.

“The extreme dependence of Apple on China, both as a (consumer) market and as its place of primary manufacturing, we see that a very risky situation,” said Christina O’Connell, a senior manager for SumOfUs, a nonprofit corporate accountability group.

Reuters reported last month that iPhone output at the Zhengzhou factory could slump by as much as 30% in November and that Foxconn aimed to resume full production there by the second half of the month.

The Foxconn source familiar with the matter said it was not immediately clear how much impact the worker protests might have on production for November and that it might take a few days to work that out, citing the large size of the factory.

A separate source has said the unrest had made it certain that they would not be able to resume full production by month-end.

Reuters Graphics Reuters Graphics

Apple has warned it expects lower shipments of premium iPhone 14 models than previously anticipated.

Reuters Graphics

($1 = 7.1353 Chinese yuan)

Reporting by Yimou Lee in Taipei and Brenda Goh in Shanghai; Additional reporting by Ross Kerber in Boston, Beijing Newsroom and Yew Lun Tian; Editing by Anne Marie Roantree, Stephen Coates and Edwina Gibbs

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Business

Wall Street rallies after BofA results, UK reversal

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  • Bank of America, BNY benefit from rising interest rates
  • Growth stocks jump as Treasury yields fall
  • Goldman Sachs up on report of major business overhaul
  • Dow up 1.86%, S&P 500 up 2.65%, Nasdaq up 3.43%

NEW YORK, Oct 17 (Reuters) – U.S. stocks kicked off the trading week on Monday with a rally after Britain reversed course on an economic plan, while Bank of America was the latest financial company to post solid quarterly results, which lifted optimism about the corporate earnings season.

Britain named Jeremy Hunt finance minister, and he immediately dispelled many of Prime Minister Liz Truss’ fiscal measures, which had unnerved markets in recent weeks.

Bank of America Corp (BAC.N) shares surged 6.06% as the lender’s net interest income was buoyed by rising interest rates in the quarter, even though it added $378 million to its loan-loss reserves to buttress against a softening economy.

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Fellow financial Bank of NY Mellon Corp (BK.N) also benefited from higher interest rates, and its shares climbed 5.08%.

Overall, higher rates boosted interest incomes for lenders in the third quarter, giving investors hope the current earnings season will be able to hurdle a lowered bar of expectations. The earnings growth estimate for the quarter is 3%, according to Refinitiv data, down from 4.5% at the start of the month and 11.1% on July 1.

“In a fragile market like this, any type of good news in the margin can go a long way,” said Emily Roland, co-chief investment strategist at John Hancock Investment Management in Boston.

“There is better sentiment around what is happening in the UK, financials earnings are being supported by a number of factors, better net interest margins are one key element, higher rates are going to be good for the banks so Q3 earnings maybe are looking a little less bad than feared, I would put it, maybe not necessarily better than feared.”

The S&P 500 banks index (.SPXBK) was up 3.48%, while each of the 11 major S&P 500 sector were higher.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) rose 550.99 points, or 1.86%, to 30,185.82, the S&P 500 (.SPX) gained 94.88 points, or 2.65%, to 3,677.95 and the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) added 354.41 points, or 3.43%, to 10,675.80.

U.S. equities remain mired in a bear market, after struggling through September, historically a tough month. Analysts said to better stock valuations entering what is traditionally a stronger period for stocks were also supporting Monday’s rally. Aggressive Federal Reserve interest rate hikes could be a stumbling block though.

Valuations have come down sharply but still above the 20-year average

“Right now the Fed owns the market, Fed policy is the key driver, they are implementing the most aggressive tightening in the shortest amount of time that we have seen in our generation and it is important to remember that Fed policy, it works with a lag,” said Roland.

Data on manufacturing in the New York region was weaker than expected, adding fuel to expectations a pivot by the Fed may be on the horizon.

Shares of Goldman Sachs (GS.N), which will post results on Tuesday, advanced 2.24% following reports of a plan to combine its investment banking and trading businesses.

Major megacap growth stocks like Apple Inc (AAPL.O), Meta Platforms Inc (META.O), Amazon.com (AMZN.O) and Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) all rallied, helping to lift the S&P 500 growth index (.IGX) by 3.42%, its biggest daily percentage jump since July 27.

Tesla Inc (TSLA.O), Netflix (NFLX.O) and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ.N) are among companies expected to report results later in the week.

Volume on U.S. exchanges was 10.65 billion shares, compared with the 11.52 billion average for the full session over the last 20 trading days.

Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a 4.79-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 2.98-to-1 ratio favored advancers.

The S&P 500 posted no new 52-week highs and 2 new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 83 new highs and 146 new lows.

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Reporting by Chuck Mikolajczak; Editing by David Gregorio

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Business

Toshiba shares jump on report of possible $19 bln buyout

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TOKYO, Oct 13 (Reuters) – Shares in Toshiba Corp (6502.T) on Thursday surged on a report that a domestic investor-led group was looking at a $19 billion bid – a potential deal that would likely lead to foreign activist shareholders being bought out after years of tension.

A consortium led by private equity firm Japan Industrial Partners and which also includes Chubu Electric Power Co (9502.T) has been given preferred bidder status in the second round of bidding, Kyodo news agency and other media have reported.

The 2.8 trillion yen figure cited by Kyodo would mark a 26% premium to Wednesday’s closing price.

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The shares were up 7% in afternoon trade, on track for their biggest one-day gain in more than a year. They have risen some 17% this year.

Once a storied conglomerate, Toshiba has been weakened by accounting and governance scandals. Attempts to turn itself around have been overshadowed in recent years by discord between management and its many activist shareholders.

The consortium will put up around 1 trillion yen in equity, with the rest of the money likely to come from bank loans, Kyodo said, adding that financing talks were ongoing and the offer value could change depending on future movements of Toshiba’s stock price.

Toshiba has declined to comment on the report.

It was not immediately clear how many bids Toshiba is seriously considering but the contest to take over the company is likely still an open race between Japan Industrial Partners and state-backed Japan Investment Corp, said Travis Lundy, a Quiddity Advisors analyst who publishes on the Smartkarma platform.

The two had previously joined forces to bid for Toshiba but have since gone their separate ways, sources have said. Japan Investment Corp has since been in talks with private equity firm Bain Capital, one of several overseas funds that passed the first round of bidding, local media have reported.

Toshiba and activist shareholders have been at odds over the direction of the company, with several large foreign funds pushing the conglomerate to consider private equity bids.

Tensions culminated last year when a shareholder-commissioned investigation concluded management had colluded with Japan’s trade ministry – which sees the company’s nuclear and defence technology as a strategic asset – to block overseas investors from gaining influence at its 2020 shareholder meeting.

“The only way to get rid of the activists is to buy them out,” Lundy said.

($1 = 146.8300 yen)

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Reporting by Sam Byford; Editing by David Dolan and Edwina Gibbs

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