By Jaspreet Kalra MUMBAI, March 4 (Reuters) - Walmart-backed Indian fintech firm PhonePe, the country's most used payments platform, is aiming to list at a valuation of between $9 billion and $10.5 billion, two people with direct knowledge of the matter said. That suggests the IPO will raise about $900 million to $1.05 billion. But even at the top end, the deal would mark a cut from the $12 bill...
By Jaspreet Kalra MUMBAI, March 4 (Reuters) - Walmart-backed Indian fintech firm PhonePe, the country's most used payments platform, is aiming to list at a valuation of between $9 billion and $10.5 billion, two people with direct knowledge of the matter said. That suggests the IPO will raise about $900 million to $1.05 billion. But even at the top end, the deal would mark a cut from the $12 billion valuation at which PhonePe last raised $100 million in private markets in 2023. Walmart will trim its stake in PhonePe by about 12% in the firm's initial public offering, while Tiger Global and Microsoft plan to exit their stakes, according to the firm's IPO filing. The three firms will sell around 50.7 million shares in the offering and PhonePe will not issue any new shares. PhonePe, which competes with Google Pay and Paytm in India, filed for its IPO in September and aims to complete the process by April, one of the sources said, although the timeline could shift depending on capital market conditions, including any impact from the Middle East conflict. Both sources requested anonymity as the discussions are confidential. PhonePe, Walmart, Tiger Global, and Microsoft did not immediately respond to emails seeking comment. The expected valuation of PhonePe, which means "on the phone" in Hindi, and timing of the issue have not been previously reported. PhonePe's listing would make it India's second-largest fintech IPO, behind Paytm's about $20 billion listing in 2021. Paytm currently trades at a market capitalization of $7.1 billion. 'MONETISATION REMAINS A QUESTION MARK' PhonePe has more than 650 million registered users and processed nearly 10 billion of the 21.7 billion transactions on India's unified payments interface (UPI) in January, regulatory data showed. But payments in India remain a low-margin business. India launched UPI in 2016 and barred companies from charging fees for the instant payment service to spur digital payments and reduce cash use in Asi...
ronniechua China’s official NBS Manufacturing PMI slipped to 49.0 in February 2026 from 49.3 in the previous month, slightly below market forecasts of 49.1 and marking the lowest print since October. China’s official NBS Non-Manufacturing PMI edged up to 49.5 in February 2026 from 49.4 in the previous month but remained below market expectations of 49.8. Composite PMI Output Index fell to 49.5 in ...
ronniechua China’s official NBS Manufacturing PMI slipped to 49.0 in February 2026 from 49.3 in the previous month, slightly below market forecasts of 49.1 and marking the lowest print since October. China’s official NBS Non-Manufacturing PMI edged up to 49.5 in February 2026 from 49.4 in the previous month but remained below market expectations of 49.8. Composite PMI Output Index fell to 49.5 in February 2026 from 49.8 in the previous month. The RatingDog China General Manufacturing PMI climbed to 52.1 in February 2026 from 50.3 in January, the highest since December 2020 and marking a third straight month of growth in factory activity. The RatingDog China General Services PMI surged to 56.7 in February 2026 from 52.3 in January, pointing to the highest reading since May 2023. Composite PMI rose to 55.4 in February 2026 from 51.6 in January. On Wednesday, the Shanghai Composite to below 4,090, while the Shenzhen Component dropped 0.2% to 13,995 on Wednesday, extending losses from the prior session as investors reacted to mixed PMI data , and the offshore yuan depreciated past 6.92 per dollar on Wednesday, marking its fourth consecutive session of losses as the strengthening greenback continued to weigh on the currency. ETFs: (NYSEARCA: FXI ), (NYSEARCA: KWEB ), (NYSEARCA: CQQQ ), (NASDAQ: MCHI ), (NYSEARCA: ASHR ), (NYSEARCA: YINN ), (NYSE: TDF ), (NYSEARCA: CHIQ ), (NYSEARCA: GXC ), (NYSEARCA: EWH ), (NYSEARCA: KBA ), (NYSEARCA: YANG ), (NASDAQ: CXSE ), (NYSE: CAF ), (NYSEARCA: CWEB ), (NASDAQ: PGJ ), (NYSEARCA: KURE ). Currency: ( CNY:USD ) More on China markets and economy: KWEB: Almost So Bad, It's Good, Where To Dip Your Toe Chinese Stocks And The FXI After The Supreme Court Ruling On U.S. Tariffs YANG: How It Works And How To Use It Asia markets in red amid Iran tensions; Seoul leads regional rout with double-digit losses Asian stocks slide as Middle East escalation spikes oil prices and shakes investor confidence
Malaysia’s anti-graft agency is investigating alleged abuse of power, fraud and governance issues linked to a deal between the government and Arm Holdings Plc , AFP reported . Malaysia inked a pact in March last year to pay the SoftBank Group Corp.-owned UK firm $250 million over a period of ten years for a slew of semiconductor-related licenses and knowhow. The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commissio...
Malaysia’s anti-graft agency is investigating alleged abuse of power, fraud and governance issues linked to a deal between the government and Arm Holdings Plc , AFP reported . Malaysia inked a pact in March last year to pay the SoftBank Group Corp.-owned UK firm $250 million over a period of ten years for a slew of semiconductor-related licenses and knowhow. The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission has summoned 12 witnesses so far from the economy ministry and various government agencies, MACC’s chief Azam Baki was cited as saying by AFP. MACC said in a statement Wednesday that it was seeking James Chai to assist in an ongoing investigation. Chai is a former aide of former Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli, who oversaw the deal. Rafizi has denied wrongdoing, saying in a statement last month that the deal was not rushed and went through cabinet deliberations.
Advanced Micro Devices NASDAQ: AMD CEO Lisa Su outlined the company’s priorities for 2026, highlighted new large-scale AI infrastructure agreements, and addressed questions around product ramp timelines, supply constraints, and market demand during a conversation with Morgan Stanley semiconductor analyst Joseph Moore. Get Advanced Micro Devices alerts: Sign Up 2026 outlook and financial targets Su...
Advanced Micro Devices NASDAQ: AMD CEO Lisa Su outlined the company’s priorities for 2026, highlighted new large-scale AI infrastructure agreements, and addressed questions around product ramp timelines, supply constraints, and market demand during a conversation with Morgan Stanley semiconductor analyst Joseph Moore. Get Advanced Micro Devices alerts: Sign Up 2026 outlook and financial targets Su said AMD entered 2026 with “a lot of momentum” driven by demand for high-performance compute and an environment that rewards strong product cycles and deep customer relationships. She pointed to growth potential in the data center business and said AMD is launching its MI450 accelerator this year. Referencing AMD’s Financial Analyst Day held a few months earlier, Su reiterated an “ambitious” financial model calling for roughly a 35% compound annual growth rate over the next three to five years, along with a target of more than $20 in earnings per share over that timeframe. Meta partnership, semi-custom GPUs, and warrants Su described a newly announced long-term strategic partnership with Meta as a deepening of an existing relationship in which Meta has been a major CPU customer and an early adopter of AMD’s MI300 and MI350 series accelerators. She said AMD and Meta see “an inflection point in AI infrastructure,” with increasing workload specificity across training, inference, and different model sizes. Su said the agreement is a “6 GW long-term strategic partnership” that includes a semi-custom GPU designed for Meta, alongside AMD’s work with Meta on CPUs and other system components. She characterized the engagement as “vertically integrated,” starting from Meta’s workloads and using AMD’s architecture to tailor a solution intended to expand AMD’s footprint in Meta’s ecosystem over multiple generations. Addressing investor questions about warrants tied to the Meta deal, Su said warrants are “a very special instrument” AMD uses only for “transformational partnerships,” noti...
Good morning . Oil prices rise as Donald Trump’s plan to escort and insure tankers in the Strait of Hormuz fails to bring calm. Blackstone executives chip in $150 million for fund redemption payments. And FIFA is in high spirits about the World Cup despite chaos in Iran. Listen to the day’s top stories . Brent extended gains as fresh attacks flared in the Middle East and traders weighed Donald Tru...
Good morning . Oil prices rise as Donald Trump’s plan to escort and insure tankers in the Strait of Hormuz fails to bring calm. Blackstone executives chip in $150 million for fund redemption payments. And FIFA is in high spirits about the World Cup despite chaos in Iran. Listen to the day’s top stories . Brent extended gains as fresh attacks flared in the Middle East and traders weighed Donald Trump’s plan to insure and escort oil tankers and other vessels through the Strait of Hormuz. The shipping industry sees it as only a partial solution to a historic crisis, while US Navy escorts would risk being “sitting ducks” for Iran, ING said. Meanwhile, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they have “complete control” of the strait, AFP reported. Asian stocks plunged the most in a year , led by the biggest South Korean crash since the global financial crisis in 2008. Thai markets also plummeted. US futures dropped, while European contracts were mixed. Gold and the dollar gained. Check out our Markets Today live blog for all the latest news and analysis relevant to UK assets. The US president said he’ll “cut off all trade with Spain” after the country denied access to its military bases for his bombing campaign against Iran. Madrid said Washington must respect international law. Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves said the UK shouldn’t sacrifice its principles for more favorable trading terms with the US, as she stood by the government’s decision to withhold British backup for the American-Israeli assault on Iran. UK's Reeves on Trade With US, Economy, Iran War Watch the Video More than 25 Blackstone Inc. executives pitched in about $150 million to help the firm’s flagship private credit fund pay out investors in a record wave of withdrawals. Separately, the company’s talks with New World have stalled because the billionaire family that runs the developer is reluctant to give up control. Related Stories Goldman’s Solomon Surprised by ‘Benign’ Markets on War Private Marke...
(RTTNews) - Bilfinger SE (BFLBY.PK), a German industrial services provider, reported Wednesday lower net profit in its fourth quarter, despite higher revenues. Further, the company issued outlook, expecting margin and revenue growth in fiscal 2026 and mid term. In the quarter, net profit dropped 19 percent to 42 million euros from the prior year's 52 million euros. Earnings per share were 1.14 eur...
(RTTNews) - Bilfinger SE (BFLBY.PK), a German industrial services provider, reported Wednesday lower net profit in its fourth quarter, despite higher revenues. Further, the company issued outlook, expecting margin and revenue growth in fiscal 2026 and mid term. In the quarter, net profit dropped 19 percent to 42 million euros from the prior year's 52 million euros. Earnings per share were 1.14 euros, down 18 percent from 1.38 euros a year ago. The company's EBITA was 87 million euros, a decrease of 17 percent from the previous year's 75 million euros. The EBITA margin decreased to 6.1 percent from 5.5 percent last year. Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization or EBITDA increased by 8 percent to 118 million euros from 109 million euros a year ago. Revenue grew 4 percent to 1.42 billion euros from last year's 1.36 billion euros last year, with an organic growth of 3 percent. Orders received by the company declined 5 percent to 1.273 million euros, with an organic decrease of 8 percent. However, the order backlog increased 5 percent to 4.316 billion euros, with an organic increase of 4 percent. Further, the Executive Board and Supervisory Board will propose an increased dividend of 2.80 euros per share to the Annual General Meeting in May, up from 2.40 euros per share in the previous year. Looking ahead, Bilfinger expects to continue growing profitably in 2026. The company anticipates revenue of 5.4 to 5.9 billion euros, an EBITA margin of 5.8 to 6.2 percent, and free cash flow of 250 to 300 million euros. In fiscal 2025, revenues were 5.43 billion euros, and EBITA margin was 5.5%. Bilfinger is on track to achieve its mid-term targets for 2027, which include average annual revenue growth of 4 to 5 percent and an EBITA margin of 6 to 7 percent. The new mid-term targets for 2030 include average annual revenue growth of 8 to 10 percent, including acquisitions, and an EBITA margin growth to 8 to 9 percent. The company projects that both revenue and ...
Advanced Micro Devices NASDAQ: AMD CEO Lisa Su outlined the company’s priorities for 2026, highlighted new large-scale AI infrastructure agreements, and addressed questions around product ramp timelines, supply constraints, and market demand during a conversation with Morgan Stanley semiconductor analyst Joseph Moore. Get Advanced Micro Devices alerts: Sign Up 2026 outlook and financial targets Su...
Advanced Micro Devices NASDAQ: AMD CEO Lisa Su outlined the company’s priorities for 2026, highlighted new large-scale AI infrastructure agreements, and addressed questions around product ramp timelines, supply constraints, and market demand during a conversation with Morgan Stanley semiconductor analyst Joseph Moore. Get Advanced Micro Devices alerts: Sign Up 2026 outlook and financial targets Su said AMD entered 2026 with “a lot of momentum” driven by demand for high-performance compute and an environment that rewards strong product cycles and deep customer relationships. She pointed to growth potential in the data center business and said AMD is launching its MI450 accelerator this year. Referencing AMD’s Financial Analyst Day held a few months earlier, Su reiterated an “ambitious” financial model calling for roughly a 35% compound annual growth rate over the next three to five years, along with a target of more than $20 in earnings per share over that timeframe. Meta partnership, semi-custom GPUs, and warrants Su described a newly announced long-term strategic partnership with Meta as a deepening of an existing relationship in which Meta has been a major CPU customer and an early adopter of AMD’s MI300 and MI350 series accelerators. She said AMD and Meta see “an inflection point in AI infrastructure,” with increasing workload specificity across training, inference, and different model sizes. Su said the agreement is a “6 GW long-term strategic partnership” that includes a semi-custom GPU designed for Meta, alongside AMD’s work with Meta on CPUs and other system components. She characterized the engagement as “vertically integrated,” starting from Meta’s workloads and using AMD’s architecture to tailor a solution intended to expand AMD’s footprint in Meta’s ecosystem over multiple generations. Addressing investor questions about warrants tied to the Meta deal, Su said warrants are “a very special instrument” AMD uses only for “transformational partnerships,” noti...
Su described a newly announced long-term strategic partnership with Meta as a deepening of an existing relationship in which Meta has been a major CPU customer and an early adopter of AMD’s MI300 and MI350 series accelerators. She said AMD and Meta see “an inflection point in AI infrastructure,” with increasing workload specificity across training, inference, and different model sizes. Referencing...
Su described a newly announced long-term strategic partnership with Meta as a deepening of an existing relationship in which Meta has been a major CPU customer and an early adopter of AMD’s MI300 and MI350 series accelerators. She said AMD and Meta see “an inflection point in AI infrastructure,” with increasing workload specificity across training, inference, and different model sizes. Referencing AMD’s Financial Analyst Day held a few months earlier, Su reiterated an “ambitious” financial model calling for roughly a 35% compound annual growth rate over the next three to five years, along with a target of more than $20 in earnings per share over that timeframe. Su said AMD entered 2026 with “a lot of momentum” driven by demand for high-performance compute and an environment that rewards strong product cycles and deep customer relationships. She pointed to growth potential in the data center business and said AMD is launching its MI450 accelerator this year. Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD) CEO Lisa Su outlined the company’s priorities for 2026, highlighted new large-scale AI infrastructure agreements, and addressed questions around product ramp timelines, supply constraints, and market demand during a conversation with Morgan Stanley semiconductor analyst Joseph Moore. Management reiterated an ambitious financial target of roughly 35% CAGR and >$20 EPS over 3–5 years, saying AI demand (and CPU demand) may be larger than expected despite near‑term CPU supply tightness, with capacity expansions planned through 2026–27. AMD plans to launch the MI450 accelerator this year with a second‑half weighted ramp (small shipments in Q3 and a sharper ramp into Q4), leveraging the ZT Systems acquisition and the Helios rack to deliver rack‑scale solutions and saying CoWoS packaging capacity is sufficient for volume shipments. AMD struck a long-term strategic deal with Meta for 6 GW of AI infrastructure capacity that includes a semi-custom GPU and performance‑based warrants aimed...
Oleksii Liskonih/iStock via Getty Images U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to impose a full trade embargo on Spain after it denied U.S. access to its military bases for operations linked to strikes on Iran. He instructed Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to “cut off all dealings” with the country, adding that the U.S. “doesn’t want anything to do with Spain.” Spain's socialist government barre...
Oleksii Liskonih/iStock via Getty Images U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to impose a full trade embargo on Spain after it denied U.S. access to its military bases for operations linked to strikes on Iran. He instructed Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to “cut off all dealings” with the country, adding that the U.S. “doesn’t want anything to do with Spain.” Spain's socialist government barred U.S. forces from using bases like Rota and Morón for Iran-related missions, prompting Trump to call Spain "terrible." Trump also criticized Spain's refusal to meet higher NATO defense spending targets of 5% of GDP. These remarks were made during a White House meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich. "Spain has absolutely nothing that we need," Trump said. "I said that Spain is a member of the European Union and we negotiate about tariffs with the United States only together or not at all," Merz told reporters after the meeting. "There is no way to treat Spain particularly badly." Spain's government emphasized respect for international law, EU trade agreements, and business autonomy, claiming resilience due to the U.S. trade surplus. Dear readers: We recognize that politics often intersects with the financial news of the day, so we invite you to click here to join the separate political discussion. More on Spain EWP: Moderating Inflation, AI Investments, And American Tensions Bode Well For Spain EWP: Spanish Stocks To Benefit From Solid GDP Growth In 2026 Spain sees downshift in service sector growth at start of 2026 Spain's manufacturing sector sees downturn in January Seeking Alpha’s Quant Rating on iShares MSCI Spain ETF
Adidas AG forecast higher profits this year and market share gains through 2028 as the German brand looks to maintain its momentum with retro sneakers and new running and football products. The sportswear company expects an operating profit of around €2.3 billion ($2.7 billion) this year, including a €400 million hit from unfavorable currency moves and higher US tariffs, it said Wednesday. That’s ...
Adidas AG forecast higher profits this year and market share gains through 2028 as the German brand looks to maintain its momentum with retro sneakers and new running and football products. The sportswear company expects an operating profit of around €2.3 billion ($2.7 billion) this year, including a €400 million hit from unfavorable currency moves and higher US tariffs, it said Wednesday. That’s below the €2.69 billion average of analyst estimates. Adidas also pledged to boost cash returns to shareholders through higher dividends and share buybacks — and proposed a 40% increase in the dividend to €2.80 per share for 2025. Adidas began a €1 billion share buyback program last month. Chief Executive Officer Bjorn Gulden has been looking to show that Adidas is in a new era of sustainable growth after capitalizing on demand for fashion-oriented retro sneaker models like the Samba and Spezial. Now in his fourth year as CEO, he wants the performance running and football products to become a more reliable contributor to earnings. The company extended Gulden’s contract through 2030. Investors have been skeptical about those ambitions — along with the growth prospects for the entire sportswear industry — amid reports that the world’s sneaker boom may finally be ebbing. Adidas shares have dropped almost 40% in the past 12 months. The company presented midterm targets on Wednesday calling for currency-neutral net sales to grow at a high-single-digit rate in 2027 and 2028 and operating profit to expand by a mid-teens compound annual growth rate over that period. Gulden is looking to get a boost this spring and summer from the football World Cup in North America. Sales will probably grow at a high-single-digit rate this year at constant exchange rates amid market share gains in all regions, the company said. That’s roughly in line with analysts’ estimates.
Earnings Call Insights: WEBTOON Entertainment Inc. (WBTN) Q4 2025 Management View Junkoo Kim, Founder and CEO, highlighted "solid year 2025 results with revenue growth of 3.9% on a constant currency basis and adjusted EBITDA of over $19 million." He noted positive MPU growth in Q1, attributing this to advances in AI-powered personalization and diversified content, particularly in Korea. Kim announ...
Earnings Call Insights: WEBTOON Entertainment Inc. (WBTN) Q4 2025 Management View Junkoo Kim, Founder and CEO, highlighted "solid year 2025 results with revenue growth of 3.9% on a constant currency basis and adjusted EBITDA of over $19 million." He noted positive MPU growth in Q1, attributing this to advances in AI-powered personalization and diversified content, particularly in Korea. Kim announced the completion of the Disney strategic agreement, including "development of an all new digital comics platform as well as Disney's approximately 2% equity investment in WEBTOON Entertainment," targeting a 2026 launch. The company has already launched 12 Disney titles in vertical-scroll format and plans to introduce an original series later in the year. Kim also mentioned IP adaptation progress, such as Amazon MGM Studio greenlighting Lore Olympus for animation and Netflix adapting a viral hit into a Japanese live action series. David Lee, CFO and COO, reported, "For the fourth quarter, we reported revenue of $330.7 million, in line with our expectations. Our reported revenue was down 4.1% on a constant currency basis and 6.3% on a reported basis as paid content growth was more than offset by declines in advertising and IP adaptations." He added, "We expanded gross margin by 100 basis points to 24.3% in the fourth quarter." Lee explained the net loss of $336.5 million as "driven primarily by goodwill impairments," and noted adjusted EBITDA for the quarter was $0.6 million, exceeding guidance. He emphasized MPU growth of 0.7% and English platform webcomic app MAU increase of 2.2% year-over-year. Outlook Lee provided Q1 2026 guidance: "We expect to deliver revenue growth in the range of negative 1.5% to positive 1.5% on a constant currency basis. This represents revenue in the range of $317 million to $327 million based on current FX rates. We anticipate first quarter adjusted EBITDA in the range of $0 million to $5 million, representing an adjusted EBITDA margin in the ra...
SimonSkafar/E+ via Getty Images WhiteHorse Finance's ( WHF ) dividend yield has moved to close to its highest ever level as sustained weakness in its common shares and a deep discount to net asset value ("NAV") become its new zeitgeist in a market where private credit faces a tripartite of headwinds. This started off with Fed rate cuts, included "credit cockroaches" from September of last year fol...
SimonSkafar/E+ via Getty Images WhiteHorse Finance's ( WHF ) dividend yield has moved to close to its highest ever level as sustained weakness in its common shares and a deep discount to net asset value ("NAV") become its new zeitgeist in a market where private credit faces a tripartite of headwinds. This started off with Fed rate cuts, included "credit cockroaches" from September of last year following the high-profile collapse of First Brands Group and Tricolor, and now incorporates AI-driven fears of software credit termed the SaaSpocalypse. The income is the prize, and the BDC most recently declared a quarterly base cash dividend of $0.25 per share , unchanged from the prior distribution, and $1 per share for a 14.88% dividend yield. There was also a supplemental distribution of $0.01 per share. WHF had previously reduced its base dividend by 35% from $0.3850 per share in the final distribution of 2025, a move that places the BDC on an expanding list of BDCs that have recently cut their distributions in response to a Fed funds rate cut by 100 basis points in 2024, then 75 basis points in 2025. This list includes Golub Capital ( GBDC ), Stellus Capital ( SCM ), and BlackRock TCP Capital ( TCPC ). Data by YCharts The yield had moved as high as 21% before the 2025 cut, signaling a lack of market confidence in the BDC being able to maintain distributions at the prior level. Critically, WHF generated fiscal 2025 fourth-quarter total investment income of $72.67 million , a significant dip of 21.7% over its year-ago comp but a small beat of around $500,000 on consensus estimates. This dip in total investment income firms WHF's core bearish base as it comes on the back of a dip in its total investment portfolio, as originations had been run below repayments up until the fourth quarter. This reduction is dramatic and sustained, with WHF's total investment portfolio having a total fair value of $615.1 million as of the end of the fourth quarter. WhiteHorse Finance Fiscal ...
Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images News U.S. President Donald Trump met privately on Tuesday with Coinbase ( COIN ) CEO Brian Armstrong before later publicly backing the company’s stance in an ongoing lobbying dispute with banks that has stalled a major cryptocurrency bill, Politico reported, citing sources. The meeting came ahead of Trump’s Truth Social post pushing for passage of the market-struct...
Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images News U.S. President Donald Trump met privately on Tuesday with Coinbase ( COIN ) CEO Brian Armstrong before later publicly backing the company’s stance in an ongoing lobbying dispute with banks that has stalled a major cryptocurrency bill, Politico reported, citing sources. The meeting came ahead of Trump’s Truth Social post pushing for passage of the market-structure bill. Trump wrote that banks “need to make a good deal with the Crypto Industry” in order to advance digital asset legislation that has stalled on Capitol Hill. He wrote that a recently adopted crypto law (Genius Act) is “being threatened and undermined by the Banks, and that is unacceptable” — echoing Coinbase’s ( COIN ) position. The dispute centers on whether crypto exchanges such as Coinbase ( COIN ) should be allowed to offer rewards programs that pay an annual percentage yield to customers who hold stablecoins. Crypto platforms such as Coinbase ( COIN ) have been offering rewards of up to ~3.5% annual yield on certain stablecoins. These rewards are significantly above typical bank deposit rates, averaging below 0.1% for a standard interest-bearing checking account. Wall Street groups warn that permitting yield-like payments on stablecoins could encourage customers to shift deposits away from traditional bank accounts, potentially undermining lending that supports the broader economy. Banking groups have flooded lawmakers with letters and calls, warning that high-yield crypto tokens could drain deposits and threaten lenders. Executives from JPMorgan Chase ( JPM ), Citigroup ( C ) have joined the push to regulate or limit crypto rewards to protect traditional banking, a WSJ report pointed out. The proposed bill would set new rules for how crypto tokens are regulated by market authorities, something the digital asset industry has long sought, arguing it would provide much-needed “regulatory clarity” from Washington. Coinbase ( COIN ), the largest U.S.-based crypto ex...
Dee Liu/E+ via Getty Images Shares of Essex Property Trust ( ESS ) have been a poor performer over the past year, losing about 18% of their value. Fears about the national rental environment and near-term pressure from the repayment of attractive investments have weighed on shares, even as core rental results have been solid. I last covered Essex in September , rating the stock a “ B uy” given bet...
Dee Liu/E+ via Getty Images Shares of Essex Property Trust ( ESS ) have been a poor performer over the past year, losing about 18% of their value. Fears about the national rental environment and near-term pressure from the repayment of attractive investments have weighed on shares, even as core rental results have been solid. I last covered Essex in September , rating the stock a “ B uy” given better supply dynamics in California, but performance has been disappointing, with shares down 4% since then. With updated financials and ongoing macro concerns about the rental environment, now is a good time to revisit Essex. Seeking Alpha Starting with the macro perspective, the fact is rental inflation has been disappointingly low over the past year, which has been a significant pressure for apartment REITs. According to ApartmentList , rents are down 1.5% from last year. As previously discussed, rents surged nationally post-COVID. Elevated rents and low rates caused a surge in housing supply, which stopped rental inflation. During 2024 and early 2025, the trend improved, and I once thought we could return to positive rental inflation. Instead, we took another turn lower over the past 8 months. This weakness appears to be primarily demand-driven. Affordability challenges may be reducing household formations (i.e., children living with their parents for longer), and lower immigration levels may also be playing a role. I do believe declining apartment supply should limit potential rental deflation, but I now expect rents to decline modestly in 2026. ApartmentList Now, there is meaningful regional divergence, and Northern California has seen much stronger rents than the rest of the country. In fact, San Francisco is the best-performing large metro area, with rents up ~5% from last year. Essex operates exclusively on the West Coast, and while it has exposure to weaker markets like Los Angeles, its California markets are outperforming the nation overall. ApartmentList This is p...