Tag Archives: Banking & Investment Services (TRBC level 2)

Italy

Accenture and ION among the competing quartets for Italian Cedacri: source | Instant News


MILAN (Reuters) – IT consultancy Accenture and international fintech firm ION Group are among four bidder groups that have made indicative bids for Italian banking software and back-office group Cedacri, two sources told Reuters.

Italian IT service provider Engineering, backed by Bain Capital, is also competing for control of Cedacri along with the private equity fund consortium Apax and Italian digital services group Reply, said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity as the matter was personal.

Cedacri and the bidders declined to comment.

Cedacri, who was advised by Deutsche Bank, aims to identify the preferred bidder by the end of the year, the sources said, adding that the deal is worth more than 1 billion euros ($ 1.19 billion).

Cedacri is supported by the Italian state-backed FSI fund, with a 27% stake, and by 14 other financial institutions including Banca Mediolanum, Gruppo Banco Desio and Unipol.

The sale is still in its early stages but discussions are expected to gain momentum in the coming weeks, the sources said.

The Italian daily Il Sole reported earlier on Wednesday that Cedacri was initially exploring an initial public offering (IPO) but its focus has gradually shifted to selling a majority stake.

The company, based in the northern Italian city of Parma, reported revenues of 383 million euros in 2019, with adjusted core profit of 81.2 million euros, up 50% compared to 2018.

Reporting by Elisa Anzolin; editing by Pamela Barbaglia, Kirsten Donovan

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Australia

Australian, NZ shares rose as Biden’s transition, increasing the risk assets of the vaccine | Instant News


* Australian finances record their highest levels since March 5

* Australian energy stocks advanced for the third session

* Fletcher NZ Building recorded highest level in more than 2 years (Renewal closed)

November 25 (Reuters) – Australian stocks closed higher on Wednesday, lifted by the start of US President-elect Joe Biden’s official transition to the White House and as investors also expected a rapid economic revival due to advances in the coronavirus vaccine.

The S & P / ASX 200 index ended 0.6% higher at 6,683.300 points.

“Thanks to the many vaccines that will be available soon,” Joy to the World “is ringing earlier than expected,” wrote Stephen Innes, head of global market strategy at Axi in a note.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average broke the 30,000 level overnight for the first time on optimism surrounding vaccine progress and Biden’s transition.

“Get a glimpse of the current market and there’s not much to say about those worries. It’s like a positive risk nirvana has gone down in the stock market and traders have little trouble other than going with the flow ”, said Chris Weston of Pepperstone.

Meanwhile, Australia’s most populous state of New South Wales is set to loosen social distancing restrictions and allow restaurants and pubs to increase capacity starting December, after recording nearly three weeks of no local transmission of COVID-19.

Up by 4%, energy companies were the biggest percentage gainers on the benchmark as crude oil prices rose for the fourth straight session.

Finance added more than 2% with the “Big Four” bank ending in black. Analysts at UBS expect the bank to increase its payout ratio and potentially return the excess capital from fiscal 2021.

Miners also gained as benchmark iron ore futures snapped two consecutive sessions of losses with Lynas Corp and BHP Group topping the sub-index with more than 3% gains each.

In New Zealand, the benchmark S & P / NZX 50 was up for the third straight session to be 0.9% higher.

The central bank said Wednesday it will reimpose mortgage restrictions next year amid growing fears of a housing bubble.

The country’s biggest construction company surged to its highest level since November 2018 on an optimistic profit outlook and dividend payback plans. (Reporting by Deepali Saxena, Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)

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Brazil

POLL-Brazil stocks reach pre-coronavirus levels in 2021 | Instant News


* cpurl: //apps.cp./cms/? pageId = stock-index polling poll data

BUENOS AIRES / SAO PAULO / MEXICO CITY, 25 Nov (Reuters) – Stocks of razilian B will reach pre-pandemic levels by the middle of next year, but concerns about the impact of a second wave of coronavirus cases could limit recovery, a Reuters poll aired on Wednesday.

The benchmark Bovespa stock index is expected to partially cover that road by the end of 2020. The index has risen 70% from lows caused by COVID-19, which has caused nearly 170,000 deaths in Brazil.

However, Latin America’s largest equity market is seen stalling in the second half of 2021 due to concerns about the potential damage caused by a recurrence in the second-worst country after the United States.

“Increasing uncertainty and the possibility of a repeat of the lockdown in Europe and America carries a tougher scenario which, if materialized, will stop Ibovespa,” said Alexandre Jung, head of equity at Vero Investimentos.

The index is expected to close this year at 108,000 points, 0.6% above its value on Monday, and then climb to 117,500 points – close to its record in January – by mid-2021, the median estimate of 10 strategists surveyed on November 12 – 23 shows.

But it is expected to trade not too far from that level by the end of 2021, with investors on alert for any improvement in the precarious state of Brazil’s public accounts and the next steps of President Jair Bolsonaro’s administration.

Last week, credit rating agency Fitch affirmed its ‘BB-‘ rating on Brazil’s sovereign debt but maintained its negative outlook, citing a sharp widening in the government’s budget deficit and soaring debt.

“Investors will only look again at increasing their exposure to the country’s risk assets once important political and economic issues are determined in 2021, which will require a lot of effort,” Jung said.

Mexican equities are expected to return to pre-coronavirus levels by the end of next year, up 11% to 46,000 points from a forecast of a close of 41,500 on the last trading day of 2020, the survey showed.

While far short of its July 2017 record of 51,713.28 points, next year’s forecast is much more bullish than the final value forecast for the S & P / BMV IPC index in the last poll taken three months ago, at 42,600 points.

This is explained by speculation that Mexico’s central bank will maintain its dovish stance to ensure an economic recovery that does not have the massive spending stimulus imposed by its neighbors.

“As Mexico’s benchmark interest rate will likely stay at 4.0%, offering negative yields in real terms, investors will be looking for better returns on the local stock market,” said Gerardo Copca, chief market analyst at MetAnalisis.

Another story from the Reuters global stock market poll package: Reporting by Gabriel Burin; Additional polls by Peter Frontini at SAO PAULO, Miguel Ángel Gutiérrez at MEXICO CITY, Richa Rebello and Manjul Paul at BENGALURU; Edited by Ross Finley and Barbara Lewis

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Australia

Australian stocks hit 9-month highs as Biden’s transition raised appetite for risk | Instant News


* Australia is on track for a third straight session of gains

* Financial sector, energy stocks hit 8-1 / 2-month highs

* Gold stocks were at 6-1 / 2 month lows as their safe-haven appeal waned

* NZ cenbank to continue restricting mortgage lending next year

November 25 (Reuters) – Australian stocks hit a nearly nine-month high on Wednesday, following Wall Street’s rally overnight, as the official green light for US President-elect Joe Biden to transition to the White House easing political uncertainty.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed above the 30,000 point mark for the first time as investors welcomed positive developments in Washington and hoped that a potential vaccine would be widely available soon.

In Australia, states have continued to ease virus-induced travel restrictions, with the country on a strong path to nearly eliminating the virus as new infections have slowed down a bit.

The S & P / ASX 200 index was up 0.8% at 6,697.1 at 2359 GMT, the highest since Feb 27, on track for a third straight session of gains.

Energy stocks rose to a peak 8-1 / 2 months after oil prices hit their highest level since March on vaccine optimism. Woodside Petroleum was up 4.2%, while Santos was up 5.2%.

Financial heavyweights rose up to 1.9% to hit 8-1 / 2-month highs amid prospects for a broader economic rebound.

Commonwealth Bank of Australia rose 2.6% and National Australia Bank rose 2.5% leading gains in the sub-index.

BHP Group and Rio Tinto’s top miners are the biggest winners in the metals and mining sub-index.

The continued decline in safe-haven gold bullion prices saw gold stocks take a hit and slide to their lowest in 6-1 / 2 months, with Evolution Mining and AngloGold Ashanti losing the most.

New Zealand’s benchmark S & P / NZX 50 index rose 1.1% to 12,696.87, with local shares of Westpac Banking Corp and the Australian and New Zealand Banking Group rising 3.4% and 3.3%, respectively.

Meanwhile, the country’s central bank said it intends to continue restricting mortgage lending next year amid growing fears of a housing bubble.

Reporting by Arpit Nayak in Bengaluru, Edited by Sherry Jacob-Phillips

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Australia

Australian, NZ stocks ended higher as vaccine euphoria fueled recovery hopes | Instant News


* Gold stocks hit their lowest point in more than six months

* Energy stocks are at a 5-month high due to rising oil prices

* Air New Zealand is profitable for the 4th consecutive session (Renewals closed)

November 24 (Reuters) – Australian stocks closed more than 1% higher on Tuesday, as news about a promising third vaccine candidate supported the risk-on mood and lifted sectors such as energy, finance and industry.

Cyclicals led the gains, with energy stocks rising as much as 3.6% to their highest level in more than five months.

British drugmaker AstraZeneca said on Monday that its COVID-19 vaccine could be up to 90% effective, and cheaper and easier to distribute than its competitors, providing a third new weapon for the world war against the pandemic after Pfizer and Moderna announced trial results. promising earlier this month.

The benchmark S & P / ASX 200 closed 1.3% higher at 6,644.1 points.

“More and more pharmaceutical companies are coming out and announcing that they have a successful viral treatment, it is inspiring the market to maintain these very high levels,” said Brad Smoling, managing director at Smoling Stockbroking.

“It’s going to take a really long time to implement, to get it to different parts of the world, so the market is trying to get inspiration from every vaccine announcement, but it will be short-lived,” Smoling said.

Heavyweights Woodside Petroleum and Santos each gained more than 2.5%, while Beach Energy added nearly 8%.

Finance hit their highest in more than eight months, with the so-called “Big Four” banks rising between 3.1% and 2%.

The gold index is an outlier as vaccine optimism undermines bullion’s safe-haven appeal.

The aviation sector got an extra boost on reports that Australia will lift more internal border restrictions as new coronavirus infections slowly drip.

Australian and New Zealand airlines Qantas Airways and Air New Zealand rose more than 4%.

New Zealand’s benchmark S & P / NZX 50 index finished 0.4% higher. (Reporting by Deepali Saxena, Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)

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