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By Swissquote Analysts
Morning News

Goldman Sachs in Talks to Sell Consumer Lender GreenSky

Goldman Sachs is in advanced discussions to sell its specialty lender, GreenSky, to a group of investment firms, in a major step away from the Wall Street bank's failed experiment in consumer lending. The group includes Sixth Street, Pacific Investment Management and KKR, according to people familiar with the matter. A deal would be worth about $500 million, according to people familiar with the matter, less than one-third of what Goldman paid for the business just a year-and-a-half ago.

By
Nadine PEREIRA
Morning News

Instacart Shares Jump in Stock Market Debut

Instacart’s shares jumped in their trading debut, another promising sign for a reawakening IPO market. Shares of the grocery-delivery company opened for trading Tuesday at $42 a share on the Nasdaq exchange under the ticker CART, up 40% from its IPO price of $30 a share. Instacart’s initial public offering had been in the works for years, and Chief Executive Fidji Simo said in an interview that the company’s main goal with the offering is to provide liquidity to its employees.

By
Mathieu VILLARD
Morning News

Societe Generale Sees Slower Revenue Growth Through 2026

Societe Generale is targeting slower average annual revenue growth between 2022 and 2026 than for the 2021-25 period, and aims to streamline its portfolio and reduce oil-and-gas exposure as part of a new strategy. The French bank on Monday outlined its new strategic plan to 2026 that Chief Executive Slawomir Krupa said will strengthen the group with a simplified business portfolio. The bank intends to focus on its core franchises going forward, it said.

By
Mathieu VILLARD
Morning News

Arm Shares Rise as Trading Begins in Biggest IPO of the Year

Shares of Arm surged in its highly anticipated stock-market debut Thursday, in a sign of the reviving fortunes of an IPO market that has been in the doldrums for most of the past two years. The British chip designer’s stock closed up 25% from its $51 IPO price, at $63.59. Arm’s debut is also a win for SoftBank Group, the chip company’s owner. Arm is now valued at nearly $69 billion on a fully diluted basis, well above the roughly $32 billion SoftBank acquired it for in 2016. That is also more than the $64 billion implied by the Japanese technology conglomerate’s recent purchase of a 25% Arm stake held by its Vision Fund.

By
Mathieu VILLARD
Morning News

Sandoz will forego being part of the SMI after the spin-off

Sandoz will not be part of the main Swiss stock market index, the Swiss Market Index (SMI), following the spin-off from Novartis (+0.2%). The Swiss stock exchange SIX announced the decision in an information letter on Wednesday evening. However, the share will be part of the SLI and SMIM indices, according to the disclosure.

By
Mathieu VILLARD
Morning News

Apple’s iPhone 15 Pro Max Pushes Up the Price

Apple unveiled a new iPhone lineup aimed at wringing more money out of its top model without jacking up prices for more basic versions that are getting only minor upgrades. The Cupertino, Calif., tech giant showed off an iPhone 15 lineup at a company event Tuesday that featured largely incremental improvements, including better cameras, improved battery and new software features. For pricier Pro models, Apple is offering a new titanium case to make the phones lighter and a screen that pushes further out to the edges of the device, among other advances. The iPhone 15 Pro Max will start at $1199 for a version with 256 gigabytes of memory. Apple said it’s the same price as last year’s Pro Max model with the same storage, but the company effectively raised the minimum price for the Pro Max by $100 by eliminating a lower-price 128-gigabyte model. Apple shares closed down 1.7% Tuesday after the announcements.

By
Peter Rosenstreich
Morning News

Disney, Charter End Dispute, Restoring ESPN, ABC to 15 Million Households

Disney (+1.1%) and Charter Communications (+3.2%) have reached an agreement that will restore popular channels including ESPN and ABC to the cable operator’s nearly 15 million subscribers, ending a blackout that lasted for more than a week. The agreement comes just hours before ESPN’s coverage of the first “Monday Night Football” game of the season—a highly anticipated matchup between the New York Jets and Buffalo Bills. Under the terms of the agreement, Charter has agreed to higher rates for Disney’s channels in return for being able to provide the Disney+ and ESPN+ streaming services to its pay-TV subscribers.

By
Nadine PEREIRA
Morning News

Kroger Says Supermarket Sales Are Under Pressure as Shoppers Pull Back

Kroger said sales at its supermarkets would likely decline over the next six months as consumers keep a tight leash on spending. Cincinnati-based Kroger said its identical sales, which exclude effects of store openings and closings, rose 1% excluding fuel for the three months ended Aug. 12. The company swung to a loss for the quarter as it incurred a $1.4 billion charge related to a nationwide opioid settlement. Kroger shares gained 3.1% Friday.

By
Peter Rosenstreich
Morning News

Nestle to Buy Majority Stake in Brazil Chocolate Company Grupo CRM

Nestle said it has reached a deal with Advent International to buy a majority stake in Brazilian chocolate company Grupo CRM for an undisclosed sum, in a bid to bolster its confectionery presence there. The Swiss consumer-goods giant said the deal will allow it to enter the high-end segment of the Brazilian market.

By
Mathieu VILLARD
Morning News

Dominion Energy Sells Gas Units for $9.4 Billion

Dominion Energy announced plans to sell several of its natural gas-distribution companies to Enbridge for $9.4 billion as it focuses on investing in renewable energy and improving the electric grid. Enbridge, a Calgary, Alberta-based pipeline operator, has agreed to pay $9.4 billion in cash and assume $4.6 billion in debt to acquire the gas-distribution companies, which operate pipeline networks in Ohio, North Carolina and parts of the Western U.S. The Wall Street Journal earlier reported that Dominion was considering a sale of the companies. The sale comes as lawmakers and regulators across the U.S. debate the future of natural gas and more towns and cities look to reduce its use in homes and businesses.

By
Mathieu VILLARD