March, 2018

• 26 March

  Key to new era of Silicon Valley growth

  

  The secret use of Facebook data in the US presidential election has forced governments and consumers to think about how such companies gather and profit from personal information — a major concern overdue for close attention. This scrutiny may be the beginning of the end of the unregulated growth of Silicon Valley. Tech companies and their investors may shudder at ...

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• 26 March

  Non-compete agreements take a toll on the economy

  

  Despite sky-high housing prices, Silicon Valley remains the vital center of the US tech industry. Once an industry takes root in a particular place, it’s very hard to pull it away. Which makes it all the more important to understand: Why did Silicon Valley become Silicon Valley in the first place? One prominent theory is that California’s culture encouraged a ...

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• 26 March

  UBS eyes small deals as Ermotti builds on bank’s push in wealth

  

  Bloomberg UBS Group AG is considering small acquisitions to complement its focus on organic growth as it reverses a shrinking of assets following the financial crisis. “Our focus is on organic growth. Of course we look at small acquisitions here and there to complement our portfolio,” Chief Executive Officer Sergio Ermotti told Bloomberg TV on the sidelines of the China ...

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• 26 March

  German bank mulls robo-adviser for firms

  

  Bloomberg 220-year-old Hamburg-based private bank M.M.Warburg & CO, which now uses an online asset manager to also attract private clients with smaller wallets, might expand this offer to semi-institutional customers by the end of the year, according to investment chief Christian Jasperneite. The company’s so-called Warburg Navigator, which was launched last year, accepts private clients with a minimum investment of ...

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• 26 March

  Volatile volatility roils Europe investment banks

  

  Bloomberg Europe’s investment banks were upbeat after a spike in volatility at the start of the year promised to revive their battered trading units. Their exuberance had disappeared as quickly as it came. Deutsche Bank AG cautioned that its securities unit was facing headwinds this quarter from a stronger euro and higher funding costs for the business, less than a ...

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• 26 March

  SNB’s elusive German investor may be clue to bank’s big share gain

  

  Bloomberg The Swiss National Bank’s (SNB) biggest private shareholder sold 10 percent of his stake in 2017, capitalising on the thinly traded stock’s mystifying rally. Theo Siegert, a German businessman and professor, held 6,070 shares — or 6.07 percent of the SNB — as of Dec. 31, down from 6,720 a year earlier, the central bank said in its annual ...

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• 26 March

  As trade war heats up, currency whales make their move

  

  Bloomberg For the first time in a decade, the world’s central banks are looking beyond the dollar to build their currency reserves. With US protectionism on the rise, a number of Wall Street strategists say the case for the euro has rarely been better. Existential crises that hobbled the European experiment have receded. A resurgent economy has spurred talk the ...

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• 26 March

  Givaudan taps organic trend with $1.6 billion Naturex deal

  

  Bloomberg Going organic can come with a high price tag. Just ask Givaudan SA. The Swiss flavours and fragrance company agreed y to buy Naturex for about 1.3 billion euros ($1.6 billion), or 135 euros a share. That’s 42 percent above where the supplier of natural plant extracts closed in Paris trading. The deal values the Avignon, France-based company at ...

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• 26 March

  JD Sports to acquire Finish Line for $558mn

  

  Bloomberg JD Sports Fashion Plc agreed to buy US sportswear retailer Finish Line Inc., seeking to snatch away a company in which Mike Ashley’s Sports Direct International Plc has built a stake. The agreement is valued at a total of $558 million. Ashley’s Sports Direct International, a UK rival of JD Sports, is the second-largest shareholder in Indianapolis-based Finish Line, ...

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• 26 March

  Rolls-Royce 787 engine snag extends to Airbus new A330neo

  

  Bloomberg Glitches with Rolls-Royce Holdings Plc engines that have dogged Boeing Co.’s 787 wide-body jet are also an issue for the competing A330neo model from Airbus SE. Rolls-Royce’s Trent 7000 turbine, the only one available on the Airbus plane, shares durability problems afflicting the Trent 1000 from which it was developed, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked ...

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