Bank of America Corp is testing a technology that allows a customer to pay at a store register by simply scanning an image with a smartphone, writes Reuters. The pilot program is being tested in Charlotte, North Carolina, where the US bank is headquartered.
3 min read · 27 September 2012
Pension funds and endowments are pressing private equity firms hard to boost returns amid a global economic slowdown, writes Reuters. As a result, the tension between private equity firms and their institutional investors is rising, with pension funds also wanting more exposure to specialised investments rather than just broadly themed funds, writes Reuters.
4 min read · 27 September 2012
(Reuters) - One of Silicon Valley's hottest venture capital firms, Andreessen Horowitz, is bringing a little more government expertise to its operations after hiring former Washington, D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty. Fenty, who served as mayor from 2007-2011, is joining Andreessen as a part-time special advisor, he and the firm said.
2 min read · 26 September 2012
(Reuters) - Blackstone Group LP, the largest publicly listed alternative asset manager, said on Wednesday that it had raised up to $960 million for its third publicly listed mutual fund to invest in corporate credit whose quality is below investment grade.
2 min read · 26 September 2012
1 min read · 26 September 2012
J.P. Morgan Chase and Blakeney Management have invested over $20 million in a Dubai-based e-commerce firm which sells designer clothing, writes Reuters. Namshi, a start-up launched late in 2011, aims to benefit from growth in the number of Internet users around the region.
2 min read · 26 September 2012
1 min read · 26 September 2012
4 min read · 26 September 2012
An investigation by New York's top prosecutor into whether a group of private equity firms used a fee arrangement to dodge taxes may be undermined by the state's own public pension fund, writes Reuters. New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman in July subpoenaed more than a dozen private equity firms, including Apollo Global Management LLC, Bain Capital LLC, KKR & Co LP, Silver Lake Partners LP and TPG Capital LP, over their practice of converting management fees paid by investors into fund investments. Schneiderman's office is investigating whether the practice, known as a "management fee waiver", was exploited by private equity firms to reduce their taxes, writes Reuters.
4 min read · 26 September 2012
Italy's Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena has given a mandate to Rothschild to sell the leasing activities it put on the block in its last business plan, writes Reuters. According to a media report, General Electric, BNP Paribas and some private equity firms could be interested in the leasing business, writes Reuters.
1 min read · 26 September 2012
