Marqeta Announces Agreement To Acquire Power Finance, Inc.

 Marqeta Announces Agreement To Acquire Power Finance, Inc.

January 30, 2023

 

 

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The acquisition of Power Finance, a modern credit card program management platform, strengthens Marqeta’s credit capabilities and enhances its leadership in modern card issuing across all card types.

OAKLAND, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 30, 2023-- Marqeta (NASDAQ: MQ), the global modern card issuing platform, announced today that it has entered into an agreement to acquire credit card program management platform Power Finance, Inc. (“Power”). The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2023, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions.

“We’re thrilled to welcome the Power team and product to Marqeta. We already see considerable demand for differentiated credit products from companies looking to innovate in this space who are held back by the constraints of legacy technology,” said Simon Khalaf, incoming CEO at Marqeta. “We thoroughly examined possible acquisitions to more quickly establish Marqeta’s leadership in the modern credit space. It became clear to us that Power would strengthen Marqeta’s platform with a best-in-class tech stack for credit card program management.”

Power’s cloud-native platform offers credit card program management services for companies creating new credit card programs. The company was founded in early 2021 by fintech veterans CEO Randy Fernando and CFO Andrew Dust. Power’s investors include Anthemis, Fin Capital, CRV, Dash Fund and Restive Ventures. As part of this acquisition, Power Finance CEO Randy Fernando will now lead the product management of Marqeta’s credit card platform.

The combination of Marqeta and Power’s platforms allows Marqeta to directly offer its customers the tools they need to create innovative credit products that meet the changing demands and expectations for credit cards from consumers and businesses. Power and Marqeta were founded on similar core product principles, with a modern and easily scalable platform built with today’s developer in mind. This acquisition will allow Marqeta customers to launch a wide range of credit products and constructs. It will combine Power’s next generation rewards engine with Marqeta’s own rewards innovations, and add in Power’s data science toolbox and ability to embed experiences inside existing mobile and web applications. Marqeta expects to use the acquisition of Power to significantly accelerate the capabilities offered in its credit product.

“Companies like ours were made possible because of the path Marqeta blazed in modern card issuing, demonstrating the possibilities in payments with flexible and modern payment infrastructure,” said Randy Fernando, co-founder and CEO at Power Finance. “At Power, we built a full-stack, cloud-native credit card issuance platform, and by becoming a part of Marqeta we have the ability now to bring this innovation to a much larger market at global scale.”

The purchase price, which is subject to customary adjustments, consists of $223 million in cash, approximately one-third of which is payable over a two-year period subject to certain conditions, plus $52 million in cash subject to a milestone that is expected to be achieved within the next 12 months.

About Marqeta

Marqeta’s modern card issuing platform empowers its customers to create customized and innovative payment cards. Marqeta’s platform, powered by open APIs, gives its customers the ability to build more configurable and flexible payment experiences, accelerating product development and democratizing access to card issuing technology. Its modern architecture provides instant access to highly scalable, cloud-based payment infrastructure that enables customers to launch and manage their own card programs, issue cards and authorize and settle transactions. Marqeta is headquartered in Oakland, California and is certified to operate in 40 countries globally. For more information, visit www.marqeta.com, Twitter and LinkedIn.

看了上海的最低工资涨幅，我才明白宏观增长的压力到底在哪里

 上海，几乎是我国所有城市当中，最像发达经济体的一座城市。这里的第三产业结构产比最高，也最健康，从上海的一些数据中，我们完全可以窥见宏观上增长的压力，到底在哪里。

目前上海的最低工资是全国第一，为2690元，这个数字看起来不高，但已经是全国最高的最低工资了。

而最近五年时间里，这个数字的增长幅度，其实是非常低的，尤其是和宏观上的增长速度相比。

2019年，也就是五年前的时候，上海最低工资是2480元；到了今年，这个数字变成了2690元；同期2019年上海社保最低基数是4699元，2024年这个数字上涨到了7384元。

五年过去了，上海最低工资仅仅上涨了8%，与此同时，上海社保最低基数则上涨了57%，而同期五年时间里，我国的GDP总量则增加了30%。

这一组数据看下来，我们可以看到一些非常有意思的趋势。

第一，收入上涨幅度偏低。

很多人说最低工资说明不了什么，毕竟现实世界里没多少人一个月只有两千多的收入，但实际上我国月收入在3000元以下的，有近10亿人，而我国的总人口才14亿人。

换言之，算上老人小孩，最低工资依然有很多人在拿。而在制造业，最低工资的重要性不言而喻，许多流水线工人的基本工资就是当地的最低工资标准，在这个基础上，加班越多收入在越高。

但加班也是有“天花板”，理论上一个月当加班时长满了之后，除非最低工资上涨，否则一个流水线工人的收入，在过去五年时间里，不会有太大的变化。

企业有没有动力涨薪呢？其实也没有，今天国内的许多制造业企业，尤其是那些人数上万的大厂，他们的经营利润并没有提高，反而还有所下降。

根据统计局数据今年1至9月份全国规模以上工业企业利润下降了3.5%，这个降幅看起来还不高，但单单是9月份这一个月，规模以上工业企业利润就同比下滑了27.1%，在消费降级的大趋势之下，企业价格战打的越激烈，企业的利润就越低。

在这样的大背景下，几乎没有多少企业还愿意主动给员工涨薪的；因此最低工资的重要性，尤其是对低收入群体的保障作用，是非常大的，不容我们忽视。

这也由此得出一个结论，全国经济最发达的城市上海，过去五年最低工资只有8%的涨幅，那么其他省份地区的最低工资，也不会上涨到哪里去。

第二，社保压力显现。

今年上海的社保缴费基数是7384元/月，从2019年到2023年这五年时间里，上海社保缴费基数下限从每月4699元上涨至7310元，平均每年的涨幅高达11.11%。

一年的社保缴费基数上涨幅度，就高于过去五年的上海最低工资涨幅，足以窥见背后的社保基金池压力。

尽管上海是我国经济最发达的城市之一，但同样也是我国老龄化最严重的城市之一。

上海目前的老龄化程度已经高达37.4%，已经符合联合国对重度老龄化社会的定义，这也导致目前上海的养老金存续紧张，这已经体现在上涨的社保缴费基数里。

为什么职工的缴费基数会这么高？其中一个原因是已经退休的老人养老金更高。

去年上海60岁及以上老年人领取城镇职工基本养老金的人数共计467.36万人，占老年人口的82.3％，平均养老金为每月5470元。

单就养老金而言，上海已经冠绝全国。

更高的养老金支出，也意味着需要更高的收入来匹配。

因此，尽管上海这样的经济重地吸引了不少高人才来到此地，这里也拥有全国最高的最低工资，但在各项成本之下，上海也是全国最高的城市之一。

第三，资源重点可能还不在低收入群体身上。

过去五年，我国GDP总量增加了30%之多，但为什么上海的最低工资涨幅仅仅只有8%？

事实上，这不是上海的特有现象，纵观全国来看，都差不多。

2019年，北京的最低工资是2200元，到了2024年，这个数字变成了2420元，五年时间里最低工资增加了220元，增长幅度约为10%，和上海的8%差不多。

2019年深圳最低工资是2200元，然后一路上涨到2480元，五年时间里增幅约为12.7%。

在一线城市里，只有广州的增幅最高。2019年广州最低工资是2100元，如今是2500元，增幅约为19%。

但总体来看，一线城市的最低工资增幅都没有跑赢宏观上的GDP增幅。

为什么？

我国GDP的增长主要由工业、服务业和投资驱动，尽管GDP增长迅速，但这种增长并没有直接转化为收入增长，尤其是没有转化为最低工资增长。

从这个角度来看，GDP的增长更多反映了整体经济活动的增加，而不是个人收入的提升。

除此之外，最低工资的增长高低还会增加企业的运营成本，特别是中小企业，最近几年国内中小企业举步维艰，因此在调整最低工资时，还会平衡企业负担和经济稳定。

这也表明，过去五年宏观上的增量更多是由工业、投资出口外贸之类驱动的，而不是由收入和消费驱动的。

这也是今天宏观增长的压力所在。

当成本高，收入低的时候，人们就会自然减少消费，或增加储蓄。对低收入群体来说，薪资增幅的放缓，也进一步影响到了企业的利润以及宏观上的增长压力。

这也是我们未来需要去改善的一点，即把更多的资源分配到提高收入和改善消费上面来，而不是像过去那样，继续在投资、扩大产能和出口上面乏力。

消费不足，投资意愿就会萎靡。而现在产能过剩的现象也已经有一些趋势，叠加外部环境的不确定性，出口也开始承压的时候。

我们唯一能够找到的新的增长点，就是把消费支出放在优先级最高的位置上来。

今天我国的居民消费占GDP比重只有39%，未来这个数字还要提高到50%以上，才能够带动我国经济迎来下一个增长点。

提高消费一个必要的举措，就是增加收入的同时，尽可能减轻人们的负担，三座大山很难，但或许也到了该撼动的时候。

转型，把更多资源投入到消费收入乃至社会保障上来，最终还是我们不得不走的一条路。

 

Robert Cavallo, CFA

 Rob is a Senior Portfolio Manager with the North American equities team at RBC Global Asset Management (RBC GAM). Rob joined the firm in 2012 as a Global equities analyst with a focus on analyzing companies within the Health Care and Consumer sectors. In 2014, Rob was named Associate Portfolio Manager on the RBC Life Sciences and Technology fund where he expanded his research focus to include the Information Technology sector. He was then named Portfolio Manager in 2016 and Senior Portfolio Manager in 2024. Prior to joining RBC, Rob spent 5-years at a boutique investment bank in Toronto where he worked as a Consumer and Special Situations equity research analyst. Rob earned a Bachelor of Commerce degree at the University of Toronto and was awarded the CFA Charter in 2012.

Marcello Montanari, CFA | RBC Global Asset Management

 

Marcello Montanari, CFA

Managing Director & Senior Portfolio Manager, North American Equities

Marcello Montanari began his career in the investment industry in 1992. Prior to joining the firm, Marcello worked at Canadian Bond Rating Service (now Standard & Poor's), where he helped determine credit ratings for telecommunications and media companies.

Marcello has been a portfolio manager and member of the team since 1999. He earned a Bachelor of Commerce degree in finance from Concordia University in Montreal and is a CFA charterholder.

Joined RBC Global Asset Management: May 1997

RBF 620 | Performance compared to SPX 500 | Royal bank life science and technology fund

 

RBC Global Technology Fund

CE stock | Dip over 20% | Nov 5 2024

 

Celanese Shares Slide 21% on Production Cuts, Slashed Dividend

Published: Nov. 5, 2024 at 9:21 a.m. ET

By Ben Glickman

Shares of Celanese fell sharply Tuesday morning after the chemicals supplier slashed its dividend and said it would sharply slow production following weak demand in its latest quarter.

The stock was down 21% to $97.51 in pre-market trading, which would be its largest percent drop since November 2008. Shares are down about 21% this year.

The Dallas-based company said Monday afternoon that it would take multiple steps to match low demand, including temporarily idling production facilities, cutting costs in selling, general and administrative expenses and closing on a $1 billion delayed-draw term loan.

Celanese said it was temporarily reducing its quarterly dividend by about 95% in the first quarter of 2025, which it described as "a prudent and cost-effective path forward to support deleveraging."

The company saw continued weak demand in end-markets such as paints, coating and construction, as well as in the automotive and industrial segments. Celanese said it expects demand to worsen in the fourth quarter.

Celanese's revenue and profit both fell in the third quarter and missed Wall Street's expectations.

Write to Ben Glickman at ben.glickman@wsj.com

Nov 5 2024 | Trade summary

 

Antony P. Ressler

Antony P. Ressler (born October 12, 1960) is an American billionaire businessman. He co-founded the private equity firms Apollo Global Management in 1990,^[1] and Ares Management in 1997.^[2] As of May 2024, his net worth was estimated by Forbes at $11.3 billion.^[3] 

Ressler was born in 1960 to a Jewish family,^[4][5] one of five children of Dorothy and Ira Ressler.^[6] His father was an attorney and World War II veteran.^[6] Ressler earned a BSFS from Georgetown University's Walsh School of Foreign Service and an MBA from Columbia Business School.^[7] After graduating, he worked at Drexel Burnham Lambert, eventually reaching senior vice president in the high yield bond department with responsibility for the new issue/syndicate desk.^[7]

In 1990, on the heels of the collapse of Drexel Burnham Lambert, he co-founded the private equity firm Apollo Global Management with Leon Black, Drexel's managing director, head of the Mergers & Acquisitions Group, and co-head of the Corporate Finance Department; John Hannan, Drexel's former co-director of international finance; Craig Cogut, a lawyer who worked with Drexel's high-yield division in Los Angeles; Arthur Bilger, the former head of the Drexel's corporate finance department; and Marc Rowan, Josh Harris and Michael Gross, all of whom worked under Black in the mergers and acquisitions department.^{[8][9][10][11]} In 1997, he co-founded Ares Management with former Apollo Global Management co-worker John H. Kissick and Bennett Rosenthal, who joined the group from the global leveraged finance group at Merrill Lynch.^[12]

Jami Beth Gertz

 Jami Beth Gertz (/ˈdʒeɪmi/ JAY-mee; born October 28, 1965)^[1] is an American actress. Gertz is known for her early roles in the films Crossroads, Quicksilver (both 1986), Less than Zero, The Lost Boys (both 1987), and the 1980s TV series Square Pegs and 1996's Twister, as well as for her roles as Judy Miller in the CBS sitcom Still Standing and as Debbie Weaver in the ABC sitcom The Neighbors. Along with her husband, Tony Ressler, she is a part-owner of the Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association.

10 Oversold NASDAQ Stocks To Invest In Now | Oct. 1 2024

1. ZI
2. DLTR
3. GT
4. WBA
5. FIVN
6. QDEL
7. SIRI
8. CAR
9. XRX
10.  CNXC

The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company (GT): Among The Oversold NASDAQ Stocks to Invest in Now? | GT stock

 

The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company (NASDAQ:GT)  

Number of Hedge Fund Investors: 36  

Forward P/E Ratio as of October 23: 4.77  

YTD Performance as of October 23: -42.81%  

The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company (NASDAQ:GT) is one of the world’s largest tire manufacturers, supplying products for a wide range of vehicles, including automobiles, airplanes, and heavy-duty trucks.

Despite strong brand recognition, The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company (NASDAQ:GT) has faced challenges in managing rising material costs and global supply chain disruptions. Despite weak revenue, the company’s earnings and adjusted earnings per share in Q2 were higher than expected, and the company’s cost-cutting initiatives are showing positive progress.

The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company (NASDAQ:GT) aims to sell $2 billion in assets and cut costs by $1.3 billion annually. The company has made significant progress in reducing operating expenses and has achieved $162 million in savings so far. Furthermore, in July The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company (NASDAQ:GT) agreed to sell its Off-The-Road operations to Yokohama for $905 million, which will help reduce debt and improve cash flows. This sale is part of the company’s plan to divest non-core assets and focus on its core business. This sale will have a positive impact on the company’s financials and will help the company to achieve its goals.

Overall GT ranks 3rd on our list of the oversold NASDAQ stocks to invest in now. While we acknowledge the potential of GT as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter timeframe. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than GT but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.

Lessons from a Stock Market Wizard with Mark Ritchie II

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