General News

Carta Releases State of Pre-Seed Fundraising Report for Q2 2023

Every startup begins as a pre-seed company, the team at Carta notes in a blog post. At Carta, they define “pre-seed” as any company that “has yet to raise a priced equity round.” These nascent businesses usually raise capital “with convertible instruments, the most common… Read More

Financial Health Network study details struggles of people with disabilities

A new report from the Financial Health Network details the perilous financial state of many people with disabilities. The Financial Health of People with Disabilities: Key Obstacles and Opportunities was produced by the Financial Health Network in partnership with National Disability Institute (NDI), The Harkin… Read More

Percentage of Down Rounds at Four-Year High as Venture Funding Dries Up: Report

The percentage of down rounds has increased to a four-year high, according to a recent report by Pitchbook. According to the report, the environment is very “investor friendly” as valuations have gone into reverse. Pitchbook says that “non-traditional investors” drive valuations, and this crew has… Read More

The British Business Bank Increases ENABLE Guarantee by £75 Million to Lender DF Capital

The British Business Bank has announced an increase of £75 million to commercial lender DF Capital. This is an addition to an existing ENABLE Guarantee, which will see the facility increased to £250 million. The guarantee may be increased again at some point in the… Read More

Over 50% of Credit Card Users Maintain Revolving Debt, Few Use Payment Plans but Fintechs Resonate

Credt card debt is now over $1 trillion, having increased by $45 billion from April to June this year. This has led to some concerning as well as interesting trends, according to a report by JD Power. In the Credit Card Satisfaction Survey, results indicate… Read More

QED Says Fintech Venture Environment Returning to Reality

QED Investors, one of the top Fintech venture capital firms in the world, says that “dry powder” is slowly returning to the market following the “champagne hangover” of easy money and huge valuations ruled the day. Venture markets, in general, have dropped dramatically in the… Read More

ThriveDX Launches Cybersecurity Program to Reskill Workers, Enhance Workplace Diversity

ThriveDX, which claims to be the global leader in cybersecurity and digital skills training, continues its mission to reskill and upskill the global cybersecurity workforce with the launch of a Cybersecurity Apprenticeship Program that will create job opportunities for diverse cyber talent at no-training cost…. Read More

UK’s PensionBee Reveals that Student Loan Repayments Might Stay with Graduates into Retirement Years

Students off to university for the first time this year could be “the first crop of graduates who face repaying their university debts into retirement,” according to PensionBee, an online pension provider. As noted in a blog post by PensionBee, this year’s Freshers will be… Read More

Gen Z Consumers Turning to Bankcards, Unsecured Personal Loans As Lenders Tighten Underwriting, Report Reveals

At the mid-point of 2023, Gen Z consumers (born between 1995 and 2005) increasingly find themselves with new access to credit products. The newly released Q2 2023 Quarterly Credit Industry Insights Report (CIIR) from TransUnion (NYSE: TRU) shows “that relative to the consumer population as… Read More

Cybersecurity Provider Check Point to Acquire Perimeter 81 to Deliver the Secure SASE Solution

Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ: CHKP), a provider of cyber security solutions globally, signs a definitive agreement to acquire Perimeter 81, a pioneering Security Service Edge (SSE) company. With this acquisition, Check Point will “help organizations accelerate the adoption of secure access across remote… Read More

deepset Secures $30M from Balderton Capital to Help Firms Leverage Large Language Models (LLMs)

deepset.ai – the enterprise platform for building applications with LLMs – has raised $30 million in funding led by Balderton Capital. The investment round also included participation from existing investors GV (Google Ventures), and Harpoon Ventures. deepset claims that it “solves one of the biggest… Read More

Private Equity Deals Sink by 36% Year over Year: Report

Private equity deals have declined by 36% during the month of July when compared to the same month last year. This is according to S&P Global Market Intelligence which reports 828 private equity deals in July 2023 versus 1290 deals July 2022. The global economy… Read More

Average 401(k) Balances Up Nearly 10% in 2023, Bank of America Claims

Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) released its Q2 2023 Participant Pulse (PDF), which found average 401(k) balances increased by $7,250 (9.6%) since the end of 2022. The report also found that “a growing number of 401(k) participants are initiating withdrawals from their plans.” The number… Read More

Moody’s Comments on Fed Report Covering Household Debt

The New York Federal Reserve posted its quarterly report covering household debt earlier this week. The report noted that outstanding credit card debt now tops $1 trillion. In total, household debt surpassed $17.05 trillion – the highest amount on record. The authors of the report… Read More

Digital Assets: Galaxy Announces Q2 2023 Financial Results, Reports $46M Net Loss

Galaxy Digital Holdings Ltd. (TSX: GLXY) released financial results for the three and six months ended June 30, 2023 for both itself and Galaxy Digital Holdings LP. Michael Novogratz, Founder and CEO of Galaxy, said: “Galaxy’s operating businesses performed well in the second quarter against… Read More

NY Fed: Credit Card Debt Tops $1 Trillion

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York is reporting that household credit card debt is now over $1 trillion. The  Fed, in its quarterly report, noted that total household debt stands at $17.06 trillion, having risen by $16 billion at the end of Q2 2023…. Read More

Financial Management Survey: Gen Z Hourly Workers Say Stress of Managing Finances Has Negative Impact on Health

Despite inflation cooling, many hourly workers in the Gen Z demographic (18-26 years old) are struggling to manage their finances and pay bills on time — and “they say it’s having a negative effect on their health.” New research commissioned by Funding Our Future and… Read More

European Investment Platform Shojin, LINUS, Reinvest24 to Focus on Real Estate Initiatives

Investment platform Shojin has teamed up with LINUS as well as Reinvest24 in order to expand various real estate opportunities. Shojin, a UK-headquartered FCA-regulated investment platform, has announced its partnership with LINUS Digital Finance, a Berlin-based real estate investment platform, and Reinvest24, an Estonia-based real… Read More

Huobi Executives Reportedly Taken into Police Custody by Chinese Authorities

Digital currency exchange Huobi has reportedly seen total outflows of over $73 million during the last week, a time period in which a few of the firm’s executives were taken into police custody by authorities in China. Huobi operates one of the largest crypto exchanges… Read More

Underperformance from Private Equity Funds Expected, Relative to Public Equities, Resulting in Flattish Absolute Returns: Pitchbook

Without offsetting topline growth or debt reduction, management will need to increase efficiency and reduce investment “to retain earnings power and, even then, may face lower valuation multiples,” the team at Pitchbook noted in a comprehensive market update. Hence, Pitchbook now expects further underperformance “from… Read More

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