 BlackRock BlackRock's investments grew 15% in Q4 2021, increasing assets under management to $10.01T. The growth was driven by a surge of exchange-traded funds. Assets under management increased by $1.33T this year. More: - iShares, a collection of ETFs managed by BlackRock, netted $104B in Q4, amounting to $306B at the end of the year.
- In the last three months, the firm added $169B to its long-term investment funds, including ETFs and mutual funds.
- BlackRock's revenue grew 14% in the last three months of the year, amounting to $5.1B.
- Adjusted income was $1.61B in the same period.
- The investment firm's shares grew 30% in 2021.
- Adjusted earnings per share were $10.42, higher than analysts' expectations of $10.15.
| |
 JPMorgan Chase & Co JPMorgan Chase & Co. reported record profits of $48.33B in 2021, despite profits in the fourth quarter falling 14% compared to last year. In the last three months of 2021, the bank amassed $10.4B in profit on revenue of $29.3B, with EPS reported at $3.33 per share. More: - Profits in 4Q 2020 were $12.14B.
- The bank's profit was $29.1B in 2020 and $36.4B in 2019.
- The corporate and investment banking division's annual profit was $4.85B, down from $5.3B a year ago as trading revenues fell 17%.
- JPMorgan has been able to counteract low interest rates due to its loan-loss reserves.
- The bank released $1.3B in loans in Q4 and $4.16B in Q1.
- The bank anticipates expenses to increase by 8% to $77B in 2022.
| |
 A message from ADOBE COMMERCE Strong in digital commerce and a Leader in the Magic Quadrant. In the 2021 Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for Digital Commerce, Adobe was named a Leader among 17 vendors. Gartner® evaluates digital commerce vendors on their “completeness of vision” and “ability to execute.” Find out why Adobe was named a Leader for Digital Commerce among 17 vendors in the Q3 2021 Gartner Magic Quadrant report. Learn more about: - Global reach: Adobe has the most diverse geographic presence of all the vendors evaluated in this Magic Quadrant. It also has the largest number of service partners spread across all major markets, making it easier for organizations to find partners in their local markets.
- Out-of-the-box functionality: Adobe has comprehensive OOTB functionality that can fulfill requirements from basic to medium levels of complexity. It supports multiple user roles, multistores, catalog management, marketplace integration, promotions and discounts, language, and currencies, all with good granular control. It has a native CMS (Page Builder) and a Progressive Web Apps (PWA) studio with reference storefront.
- Admin UI: Adobe has a modern and intuitive UI that can be configured based on user role. It supports multiple import mechanisms for product data, and can integrate with multiple sources and analytics tools, making it easy for admins to focus on outcomes.
View the Report
| |
 Bolt's payment gateway Bolt, the e-commerce checkout software firm, raised $355M in Series E funding at an $11B valuation led by BlackRock. The incoming funds have increased the total funding received by the company to ~$1B. More: - The new funding comes on the heels of a Series D funding of $393M received in Oct. 2021.
- The incoming funds will be used to accelerate product development, partner with new clients, increase the product and engineering workforce, and expand to more international markets.
- The company recently expanded operations into Europe, partnering with PrestaShop and Benefit Cosmetics.
- Bolt acquired Sweden-based Tipser to enable shopping on any device.
- The payment checkout company’s transactions grew 200% as compared to last year, and accounts increased 180% YoY.
- Over the next year and a half, Bolt estimates its customer base to grow to 100 million online shoppers.
| |
 China's imports and exports The Chinese General Administration of Customs reported a $676B trade surplus in 2021, 26% higher than in 2020. Exports soared by 30% totaling $3.36T for the year, buoyed by 21% YoY growth in December. More: - Imports during 2021 totaled $2.69T.
- The U.S. trade surplus increased 21.1% YoY to a $39.2B balance in Dec. 2021, while the EU trade surplus increased 25.6% to $25.1B in the same period.
- Exports from China, which increased after the dip in early 2020 when lockdowns were imposed in many parts of the world, have continued to show resilience despite ongoing global supply chain challenges.
- Analysts expect the 30% growth curve to "decline sharply" this year owing to both domestic and international restrictions to curb the spread of the virus.
- Southeast Asia's recovery from the pandemic is also anticipated to impact China's trade, as many companies focus on reducing their dependence on Chinese production.
| |
 A message from RAMP Dear CFOs of America, We’re sorry that shopping for a corporate credit card has become a game of trying to find the best bonuses and perks. Most business credit card companies offer rewards designed to make you spend more. Ramp offers a finance automation platform designed to save you time and money—for free. Benefits of traditional cards: - Useless points with confusing multipliers
Benefits of Ramp: - Unambiguous 1.5% cashback
- 20x higher limits so you have the runway to scale your business
- Insight into macro spending trends
- Access to powerful finance automation software that saves you time on expense management, bill payments, and accounting
- No fees of any kind
Get started in minutes, issue cards in seconds, and save hours each month so you can focus more on strategy and worry less about savings. Try for free - claim a $250 Bonus 
| |
 Andretti team Longtime racer Mario Andretti's SPAC, Andretti Acquisition Corp., hopes to raise $200M through its IPO. The company, which will focus on acquiring EV and autonomous technology, aftermarket products, service, retail, and other automotive allied sectors, will offer 20 million shares at a price set at $10 per share. More: - The stock is trading under the ticker name WNNR.U on the NYSE.
- Michael Andretti, Mario's son, will be the co-CEO of the SPAC along with Bill Sandbrook.
- Michael is also the founder, CEO, and chairman of Andretti Autosport, while his childhood friend Bill was also the CEO of U.S. Concrete.
- The company's long-term vision is to assist invested companies with governance, public company readiness, sales, and vendor agreements, leveraging the business network and reach of Andretti.
- The company is currently evaluating 40 companies to invest in after the IPO debut.
| |
Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s conglomerate Reliance Industries is set to invest $80B in the state of Gujarat to make the state carbon neutral by 2035. An MoU has been signed by the company with the state government of Gujarat, with the venture forecasted to create 1 million direct and indirect employment opportunities in the state. More: - Reliance, the world’s 55th largest company per Forbes, has funds earmarked for specific purposes:
- $67.4B for the development of a green hydrogen ecosystem and setup of a 100-gigawatt renewable energy plant.
- $8.1B for a solar panel, fuel cell, electrolyzer, and battery manufacturing unit.
- $3.37B in existing and new ventures over the next 3-5 years.
- Funds will also be utilized to encourage SMEs to adopt renewable energy and green energy sources.
- In the last fiscal year ending March 2021, revenues of Reliance Industries topped $73.8B.
Zoom out: - The investments are in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s nationwide ambition to have 500 gigawatts of renewable energy capacity by 2030 and become carbon neutral by 2070.
- Reliance, along with Hyundai Motor Co. and Mahindra & Mahindra, has applied for incentives under the $2.4B battery scheme, which aims to localize battery production in India.
| |
Inside Business Podcast Notes: Every Friday, we summarize the most valuable insights from the latest episode of the Inside Business Podcast, co-hosted by Inside.com analyst Liam Gill and Mac Conwell, founder of RareBreed Ventures. In their final episode, Liam and Mac shared their best startup advice. Click here to check out all the episodes. Top Insights: - Both Liam and Mac emphasize that founders should eat healthily and exercise regularly to ensure they're protecting their health.
- Liam says founders must understand who they're raising from and their interests so they know what to prioritize in their pitch deck.
- A founder pitching to an angel investor with an engineering background should highlight the strength of the technology.
- Mac says founders looking to find investors need to have a strong network as the VC industry is network-driven.
| |
Quick Hits - Watch & Win with "Easy Buckets"! New episodes feature basketball stars and a $100,000 Bitcoin Giveaway. Enter now for a chance to win your share.*
- Alphabet Inc.'s autonomous driving unit Waymo formed a strategic alliance with J.B. Hunt, which will see the trucking company be the launch customer for Waymo's autonomous trucking service.
- Space tourism company Virgin Galactic will sell convertible senior notes due in 2027 to raise $425M, with an additional $75M option. The incoming funds will be used as working capital and CAPEX for the development of its spacecraft fleet.
- Wee Cho Yaw-owned United Overseas Bank, Singapore's third-largest bank, will acquire Citibank's consumer banking division in Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, and Vietnam for $3.6B, including $950M in premium over net assets value of the organization.
- A class-action lawsuit of $3.2B (£2.3B) has been filed against Meta Platforms Inc. for allegedly violating the U.K.'s 1998 Competition Act and not compensating the users for using their personal data. The opt-out lawsuit covers 44 million users in the U.K.
- The Spanish court has ordered Santander to pay $58.75M, reduced from $77.35M, compensation to banker Andrea Orcel for withdrawing their offer to make him CEO of the banking organization over remuneration disagreements.
*This is sponsored content
| |
Upcoming Events: - January 18 - Venturing in VC - Episode #3 with Wiz Abdulla (Space Cadet) (Register Here)
- January 19 - Music in the Metaverse with Jonathan Gray (Clap for Encore) (Register Here)
- January 25 - Need To Know NoCoder - Leon Young (Cogniss) (Register Here)
- January 25 - Venturing in VC - Episode #4 (Register Here)
- January 27 - Understanding the Metaverse (Register Here)
- February 03 - Blockchain Gaming & Play-to-Earn Economies (Register Here)
- February 10 - The Business of Wellness (Register Here)
- February 17 - Customer Acquisition in a post iOS 14 world (Register Here)
- February 23 - Need to Know NoCoder: Derya Sousa (Kianda Technologies) (Register Here)
- February 24 - Alternative Investments (Register Here)
- March 03 - The $12B Appetite for Amazon Aggregators (Register Here)
- March 10 - NoCode's Impact on the Gig Economy (Register Here)
- March 23 - Need to Know NoCoder: Nichole Bestman (Bubble) (Register Here)
| |
 |  | Karan Chafekar is a Management Consultant, Business enthusiast, and Licensed Pilot. | | | | Editor | Aaron Crutchfield is based in the high desert of California. Over the last two decades, he has spent time writing and editing at various local newspapers and defense contractors in California. When he's not working, he can often be found looking at the latest memes with his kids or working on his 1962 Ford. | |
| |
Go from 5 to 1. Click here to try Ramp for free and get a $250 bonus. | |
Comments
Post a Comment