Profitshop

The number is 23 -- and it’s one of the most powerful forces in China’s $6.4 trillion equity market today. As the Shanghai benchmark index posts the world’s biggest rally, 23 has become a ceiling for firms trying to tap into it. Even though market valuations have climbed, virtually no companies have gone public at prices of more than 23 times their earnings per share. That’s no coincidence, bankers say. Chinese authorities have quietly quashed attempts to take businesses public at richer prices. By hewing to the multiple 23, regulators are handing investors an almost guaranteed profit when new shares start trading. Companies, on the other hand, get shortchanged with smaller cash infusions than investors are ready to commit. What’s so special about 23? The number itself is less important than what it says about the Chinese government and its hold on the nation’s financial markets. Though regulators have made no official announcement about the ceiling, it first emerged afte...

(Bloomberg) -- Diplomats seeking to end a nuclear dispute that’s defined Iran’s ties with the world for more than two decades resumed negotiations on Sunday with a self-imposed deadline looming. Talks between the Persian Gulf nation, which holds the world’s fourth-largest oil reserves, and world powers continued for a fifth day in Lausanne, Switzerland. In a sign of progress still to be made, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry canceled engagements in Boston on Monday in order to extend his stay. A negotiated accord -- even if only a political framework - - could be a major stepping stone to ending Iran’s isolation and rebuilding its global trade ties. Failure would not only deny President Barack Obama and others a major foreign policy success but also raise the prospect that he or a successor would turn to force to prevent Iran from producing nuclear weapons. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is due in Lausanne on Sunday afternoon. French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabiu...

Most of the New York-based private equity firm’s energy investments aren’t in oil, meaning its exposure to lower oil prices is limited, Schwarzman said in an interview on the sidelines of the Boao Forum for Asia with Bloomberg Television on Saturday. Schwarzman, who is also chief executive officer of Blackstone, didn’t elaborate on specific energy investments. (Bloomberg) -- Blackstone Group LP’s Chairman Stephen Schwarzman is seeing “remarkable” opportunities in debt and equity that are emerging out of the slump in crude oil. Crude prices tumbled more than 50 percent after the U.S. shale boom boosted output to a three-decade high and as OPEC, led by Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil exporter, relinquished its traditional role adjusting production to moderate price swings in an effort to maintain market share. Brent crude, the global benchmark, fell from last year’s high of $115.71 a barrel to a six-year low of $45.19 on Jan. 13. Blackstone, the world’s largest privat...

BEIJING —  Australia  plans to join an Asian infrastructure bank led by  China , the government announced on Sunday, reversing an earlier decision taken at the urging of the United States not to become a member. The move made Australia the latest of a list of major American allies to sign up. The office of Prime Minister Tony Abbott said in a statement that Australia still had concerns about the management of the bank but recognized the pressing needs for infrastructure in Asia. The decision will allow Australia to “participate as a prospective founding member in negotiations to set up the bank,” the statement said. Australia said it wanted to ensure that the board of directors had authority over crucial investment decisions and that “no one country,” a reference to China, controls the bank. Read full story: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/29/world/asia/australia-to-join-regional-development-bank-led-by-china.html?rref=homepage&module=Ribbon&version...

SAN FRANCISCO/WASHINGTON (Mar 28): Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen signaled that the U.S. central bank will likely start raising borrowing costs later this year, even before inflation and wages have returned to health, but emphasized the return to normal interest rates will be gradual. A downturn in core inflation or wage growth could force the Fed to delay the first increase to borrowing costs since 2006, the central bank's chief said on Friday, but policymakers should not wait for inflation to near the Fed's 2-percent goal before tightening monetary policy. The Fed has held short-term borrowing costs near zero since December 2008. After the first rate increase, Yellen said, a further, gradual tightening in monetary policy will likely be warranted. If incoming data fails to support the Fed's economic forecast, the path of policy will be adjusted, she said. "With continued improvement in economic conditions, an increase in the target range for that rate...

JERUSALEM —  Israel  announced on Friday that it would release three months’ worth of tax revenue to the Palestinian Authority  that has accrued since  Israel suspended the payments  in response to the  Palestinian move to join the International Criminal Court. The announcement appeared to partly reflect a desire by Prime Minister  Benjamin Netanyahu  of Israel to ease tensions with the  Palestinians  and the United States. But it also was a response to a recommendation by Israel’s security establishment amid fears that the impoundment of the revenue was undermining stability in the area and endangering Israel’s own well-being. Mr. Netanyahu approved the recommendation of his defense minister, Moshe Yaalon, and of the Israeli military and Shin Bet internal security agency to transfer the withheld funds “based on humanitarian concerns and in overall consideration of Israel’s interests at this time,” according to a statement from ...

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