Reform – IAM Network

June 3, 2020

Financial services entities seek setting up of a bad bank

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NEW DELHI: Financial services sector entities batted for a one-time restructuring of all loans and setting up of a bad bank — or a system like the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) of the US — to help revive the economy and shore up weak balance sheets that they said would be seen a year from now due to the impact of Covid-19.
Speaking at the 125th annual session of the Confederation of Indian Industry on Tuesday via videoconference, entities representing non-banking financial companies (NBFCs), health insurers and private equity firms also backed the idea of a single financial regulator, besides enabling healthcare insurance for all.
“Going into Covid, we had a weak financial sector. A $25-30 billion TARP-like programme can pull sectors like NBFCs out of distress,” Bain Capital Private Equity managing director Amit Chandra said.
Others also backed one-time restructuring. “A weaker credit book business will be the result of the moratorium (for six months on loan repayments) as it gives time for the borrower, but it is not the solution; a one-time restructuring plan (is),” said Sanjay Nayar, the CEO of KKR India.
Sanjiv Bajaj, the managing director of Bajaj Finserv, the country’s largest NBFC, also supported the …

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Education Finance Takes Center Stage Amid Fiscal Uncertainty

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June 2, 2020

Quality Counts’ annual deep dive into school finance might seem like a specialty project—crucial for the brass who keep the fiscal ship afloat in their school districts, but overshadowed by the day-to-day challenges of teaching, learning, and student safety that seem to dominate the K-12 education discussion.
Not this year.
As it has with every aspect of society, the COVID-19 pandemic threatens K-12 finances to an unprecedented degree. School administrators and state policymakers face the prospect of devastating budget cuts, layoffs, and programmatic retrenchment even as they wrestle with how to safely reopen their virus-shuttered schools.

Highlights From the Report

Full Report

They can’t make these decisions in a vacuum. School leaders need a clear picture of the resources in hand and what they can learn from those who have confronted past financial downturns—and survived.
“Quality Counts 2020: School Finance” aims to address all of these needs.
In his lead article, Education Week school finance reporter Daarel Burnette II, who has been covering the fiscal impact of the pandemic for months, shares advice from district leaders and school finance experts on navigating this crisis, informed by lessons from the Great Recession of 2007-09 and its aftermath.
Scores, …

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June 2, 2020

Zoom’s Q1 earnings will revolve around pandemic, security issues

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Video chat software giant Zoom (ZM) announced its Q1 2021 earnings after the bell on Tuesday, beating expectations and giving investors and analysts their first look at how much growth the company has experienced as a result of the coronavirus pandemic and ensuing lockdowns.Here are the most important numbers from the report compared with what analysts were expecting, as compiled by Bloomberg.Revenue: $328 million versus $203 million expectedEarnings per share: $0.09 versus $0.01 expectedThe company’s stock was down in after hours tradingZoom has been among the biggest beneficiaries, if you can call it that, of the pandemic. The lockdowns, which are now being eased in many countries, forced people to gather in front of their laptops, smartphones, and tablets to stay in contact with friends and loved ones, work from home, and attend virtual classes.Its revenue, as a result, jumped a whopping 169% year-over-year. Zoom CEO Eric Yuan attends the opening bell at Nasdaq as his company holds its IPO in New York. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File)MoreZoom says it now has 265,400 customers with more than 10 employees, a 354% increase year-over-year, and 769 customers paying more than $100,000 for the service.The company, however, expects to see a larger amount of customer churn in …

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June 2, 2020

Market movers: Bajaj Finance, Kotak lead rally; 150 stocks give buy signal

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NEW DELHI: Unperturbed by Moody’s sovereign rating downgrade and concerns over growth outlook in coming months, investors continued piling up equities as benchmark indices rose for the fifth-straight session on Tuesday.
In a repeat of Monday, bank and financial names led the rally as the 30-share pack Sensex climbed over 500 points and the broader 50-share Nifty advanced 150 points to flirt with the 10,000 mark.
Among bluechips, Bajaj Finance was the biggest gainer, up nearly 9 per cent while Kotak Mahindra Bank, IndusInd Bank, HDFC, Axis Bank and ICICI Bank added 3-8 per cent.
Here is a lowdown on what happened in Tuesday’s session:
Smallcaps outperform
Nifty Smallcap index continued their stupendous run, rising for the sixth session, outperforming its peers. The index added 2.36 per cent led by 6-10 per cent gains in Arvind Fashions, Aster DM, NCC, Aegis Chemicals and ITI. In comparison, Nifty Midcap advanced 1.36 per cent, Nifty500 1.46 per cent and Nifty50 1.56 per cent.
FMCG lone losing sector
At a time when everything was being bought, FMCG stocks were under pressure as investors believed some cost cutting from households is likely as cash flow dwindles. Some selling was also due to CAPF canteen’s decision to exclude products from ‘ …

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June 2, 2020

Five finance tips for recent college grads – KYMA

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YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) – A financial balance is important for recent college graduates as they enter adulthood.

Rebecca Gramuglia, a personal finance expert at topcashback.com, has five tips for recent college graduates to better budget their money.

The first tip is building credit. She says creditworthiness is factored in when opening a credit card or buying a car.

Second is finding a good balance for budgeting income in terms of essential, debt, and personal spending.

“The 50/20/30 rule is to use up to 50% of your after-tax income on essentials such as housing, food; up to 20% on any financial priorities such as savings or debt repayments; and up to 30% on any lifestyle choices,” Gramuglia said.

Maiely Gonzalez is a California State University, Chico graduate, and resident of Calexico. She believes colleges should help students be more prepared financially.

“College should have like a specific class to teach every single student about like credit and their savings because there’s a lot of people who don’t know anything about it, and I only know because I did my own research,” Gonzalez said.

Tune in tonight at 4 p.m. on 13 On Your Side as April Hettinger provides more tips graduates can use to …

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June 2, 2020

Finance department ‘withholding’ PPE order emails

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A DUP MLA has accused the Department of Finance of withholding emails about a failed Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) order from China.Paul Frew said the finance committee had requested all emails about the order, but only some of the correspondence was released.He said emails covering 30 and 31 March were not provided.The finance minister said he was happy to “consider any request for appropriate information”.But Conor Murphy also asked Mr Frew if he brought the same “righteous indignation” into his own party meetings when such issues as the renewable heat incentive (RHI) are discussed, and said he doubted this was the case.The botched green energy project contributed to the collapse of the Northern Ireland Executive in 2017.’A grave place’Mr Frew, who is the deputy chairman of the finance committee, accused the department of denying the committee access to the emails and claimed a BBC freedom of information request to access the same emails was also rejected by the department. “We are in a grave place if we are denied access to these emails, ” Mr Frew said.”Any department that stops information going to a scrutiny committee is unjust and diabolical”The Ulster Unionist MLA Mike Nesbitt, who …

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June 2, 2020

BMW India’s new finance plans offer 40% lower EMIs, 0% downpayment and more

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An Easy Start to a Dream Car the initiative by BMW India Financial Services aims to make buying a BMW model easier with new finance schemes. With lower EMI amounts, zero-downpayment and buyback policies, here are the new finance schemes available on BMW and MINI models in India. With customer sentiment at its all-time lowest due to the coronavirus pandemic and its effect on the economy, BMW India has announced that its finance arm, BMW India Financial Services has introduced the new ‘Easy Smart’ financial offers. BMW has designed the plans to help boost sales by making it easier, and less of a financial burden for consumers to purchase a BMW or Mini branded vehicle. With the offers, BMW says that it will help bring down the cost of ownership both during the purchasing time as well as in the long term. BMW resumed operations on June 1, once it received the approval from the authorities. Both the plant in Chennai and the corporate office in Gurugram are operating at half capacity at the moment. BMW dealerships across the nation have also begun operations accordingly. Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, BMW India Financial Services, Kathrin Frauscher said, “BMW India Financial …

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June 2, 2020

APi Group Reports First Quarter 2020 Financial Results

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NEW BRIGHTON, Minn., June 2, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — APi Group Corporation (NYSE: APG) (“APG”, “APi” or the “Company”), today reported its financial results for the three months ended March 31, 2020.First Quarter 2020 Highlights:Reported net revenues were $858 million, compared to $922 million in the prior year periodAdjusted net revenues declined by 2.5% or $21 million to $820 million, compared to $841 million in the prior year period, primarily driven by improved project selection in Industrial Services which declined $33 millionReported gross margin was 18.9%, representing a 120 basis point increase compared to prior year gross margin of 17.7%Adjusted gross margin was 22.4%, representing a 341 basis point increase compared to prior year gross margin of 19.0%, driven by improved project selection and execution in our Industrial Services segmentReported operating loss was $234 million, a $260 million decline from prior year operating income of $26 million, largely driven by a $208 million goodwill impairment chargeAdjusted EBITDA was $61 million or 7.4%, a 42 basis point increase over prior year periodReported net loss was $194 million, a $215 million decline from prior year net income of $21 million, primarily driven by a $208 million goodwill impairment charge and reported net loss was $1.14 per diluted shareAdjusted net income was $23 million and adjusted diluted EPS was $0.13, consistent with prior yearRuss Becker, APi’s President and Chief Executive Officer said, “We …

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June 2, 2020

American Finance Trust Provides Rent Collection Update

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NEW YORK, June 2, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — American Finance Trust, Inc. (Nasdaq: AFIN) (“AFIN” or the “Company”) announced today that 79% of the original cash rent due quarter-to-date for the second quarter of 2020 has been received as of June 1, 2020, including 93% of the original cash rent due in the Company’s single-tenant portfolio.
“AFIN has taken a proactive approach in response to the disruption this virus has caused, and we’re extremely pleased with our initial result,” said Michael Weil, CEO of AFIN. “We have been in direct contact with our tenants to work together to find mutually agreeable solutions and build on relationships that have developed through prior transactions. Thanks to these conversations and the strenuous credit underwriting standards that have shaped our acquisition strategy over the last several years, we have had tremendous success in our rent collection during this pandemic.”
About American Finance Trust, Inc.American Finance Trust, Inc. (Nasdaq: AFIN) is a publicly traded real estate investment trust listed on the Nasdaq focused on acquiring and managing a diversified portfolio of primarily service-oriented and traditional retail and distribution related commercial real estate properties in the U.S. Additional information about AFIN can be found on its website at www.americanfinancetrust.com.
Important …

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June 2, 2020

Group 1 Automotive appoints UK finance boss as CFO

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Group 1 Automotive has appointed Daniel McHenry as chief financial officer (CFO) who will replace long time Group 1 CFO John Rickel, who is retiring after almost 15 years of service.
McHenry has served as Group 1’s UK finance director since 2007. He is a native of Belfast, Northern Ireland and holds a Bachelors degree in Economics from Queens University Belfast and a Masters degree in Accounting and Management Science from Southampton University.
McHenry joined Group 1 in 2007 as part of the acquisition of Chandlers BMW in southern England, Group 1’s first venture in the UK.
Prior to entering the auto retail business, McHenry had five years of experience with KPMG in the UK.
Group 1 CEO Earl Hesterberg said: “Working with Daniel directly over the past 12 years I have witnessed first hand his passion for the retail automotive business.
“He has been responsible for the creation of our back-office systems, processes and financial controls, as we have grown our UK operations from three dealerships in 2007 to 50 dealerships today.
His familiarity with our company, people and processes makes him the perfect candidate to step into this important role.”
Current Group 1 CFO John Rickel came to Group 1 in December 2005 after a 21-year career at Ford Motor Company.
“ …

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