General News

January 22, 2025 @ 8:03 am By JD Alois  |  

2025 may be a far better year for risk capital in Europe. According to a report, around $31 billion in “dry powder” is available for European early-stage firms. Dealroom.co says over 4X the amount of cash available compared to ten years ago, and “Unicorn creation”… Read More

January 20, 2025 @ 7:56 am By Omar Faridi  |  

PitchBook noted in a new research report that if they had to pick just one word to accurately summarize European private equity (PE) in 2024, it would actually be “recovery.” According to the update from PitchBook, annual private equity deal value increased 35.4% year over… Read More

January 19, 2025 @ 7:09 am By Michael Wong  |  

Revelstoke Capital Partners has made a strategic investment in Omega Systems, marking the eighth investment under its Revelstoke Capital Partners Fund III, the private equity firm announced. Omega, recognized as one of the 25 fastest-growing IT service providers in North America in 2024 by CRN,… Read More

January 19, 2025 @ 6:07 am By Michael Wong  |  

Chevron Corporation announced a total contribution of $1 million to three organizations supporting wildfire relief efforts in California. The donation is allocated among the California Fire Foundation, the American National Red Cross, and the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce Small Business Disaster Recovery Fund. According… Read More

January 15, 2025 @ 11:07 pm By JD Alois  |  

UK inflation (Consumer Prices Index including owner occupiers’ housing costs – CPIH) declined slightly in an unexpected development. Inflation was measured at an annual rate of 2.5% in December, down from November at 2.6%. On a monthly basis, the consumer price index rose by 0.3%… Read More

January 15, 2025 @ 4:55 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Ramirez Asset Management, Inc., a fixed income and equity investment manager serving institutional investors and high net worth investors, has reportedly acquired the private credit opportunities strategy team and their assets from hedge fund manager Avenue Capital Group. The acquisition, which closed on Oct 1,… Read More

January 15, 2025 @ 10:49 am By JD Alois  |  

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has published a report addressing crowdfunding in the EU. Not too long ago, the EU approved new rules addressing online capital formation. European Crowdfunding Service Provider regulation (ECSPR) allows a platform approved by the relevant authority in its home… Read More

January 10, 2025 @ 9:30 am By JD Alois  |  

Risk capital is experiencing a period of heightened risk, it seems, as venture capital (VC) and private equity (PE) financed firms have registered all-time high bankruptcies, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence data. S&P reports that bankruptcy filings made by US companies backed by PE… Read More

January 8, 2025 @ 3:50 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

As the UK looks ahead to more growth in 2025, the year may potentially bring renewed challenges from a relatively higher pace of inflation, increased trade frictions, and a “heightened state of economic uncertainty.” This, according to an update from KPMG. The ultimate impact will… Read More

January 6, 2025 @ 12:59 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

​The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), the EU’s financial markets regulator and supervisor, is launching the first selection procedure for the Consolidated Tape Provider (CTP) for bonds. Entities interested to apply are encouraged to register and submit their requests in order to participate in… Read More

January 4, 2025 @ 9:26 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Investors channeled over $1 trillion into U.S. exchange-traded funds or ETFs this year, setting a fresh record and fueling optimism for 2025, the WSJ  reported. Total assets increased by a substantial 30% to a record $10.6 trillion through November, according to ETFGI data. Meanwhile, S&P… Read More

January 4, 2025 @ 9:25 am By Omar Faridi  |  

The Asia-Pacific (APAC) region topped the global initial public offering (IPO) market, with 604 companies going for public issues to raise “a total of $33.9 billion” for the calendar year 2024. The performance was driven by strong market sentiment, a favorable macroeconomic environment, and a… Read More

January 3, 2025 @ 4:50 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

BitStaete Asset Management has reportedly obtained its MiCA License as a crypto-assets manager. As of December 30, 2024, all crypto service providers must comply with the European Markets in Crypto-Assets regulation (MiCA). MiCA are EU rules that regulate all digital assets except crypto deemed to… Read More

January 2, 2025 @ 12:04 pm By JD Alois  |  

Crowdfund Capital Advisors (CCA) has distributed an end-of-year update on activity in securities crowdfunding. More specifically, securities sold under Reg CF. According to CCA, a total of $375 million was raised during 2024 – the third year of consecutive decline for this sector of capital… Read More

January 2, 2025 @ 11:25 am By Omar Faridi  |  

US credit card defaults have reportedly surged to $46 billion in the first 9 months of 2024, which is said to be the highest since 2010. Credit card defaults are now up more than 50% year-over-year. And defaults of seriously delinquent credit card loan balances… Read More

December 31, 2024 @ 1:12 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Division of Economic and Risk Analysis (DERA) at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has provided an update regarding information on exempt securities offerings, including Reg D, Reg CF, and Reg A+. The data is as of the end of 2023. Reg CF or… Read More

December 30, 2024 @ 4:49 pm By JD Alois  |  

The US Department of Justice says victims of the Bernie Madoff fraud have received 93.71% of their fraud losses. Of course, this does not reflect the opportunity cost of missed years when the money could have been put to work. And then there is inflation…. Read More

December 30, 2024 @ 12:01 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Visa (NYSE: V), a global enabler of digital payments, announced its first Retail Spend Monitor from Visa Consulting & Analytics (VCA). This year, Visa’s preliminary insights indicate that the “overall holiday retail spend in the U.S. increased 4.8% year over year.” This is across all forms… Read More

December 29, 2024 @ 9:34 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The Bank of Ireland Savings and Investment Index continues to recover, with Q4 2024 results back to pre-pandemic levels, driven by more consumers feeling it is a good time to save, and an improvement in attitudes to investing. The Index also showed some significant changes… Read More

December 27, 2024 @ 9:49 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Lazarus’ key operation – “Operation DreamJob” – continues to evolve with sophisticated tactics (involving malware and malicious activities) that have persisted for over five years, according to Kaspersky‘s Global Research and Analysis Team. The targets reportedly include workers from a nuclear-related organization, who were infected… Read More