The Swiss government cut the bonuses of about 1,000 senior Credit Suisse bankers following the bank’s forced sale to rival UBS last month. Credit Suisse was also ordered to review if paid-out bonuses can be recouped and to report its efforts to the finance ministry and financial regulator, Finma. More: - The decision comes a day after the bank’s annual meeting, where chairman Axel Lehmann apologized to shareholders for the bank’s sudden collapse and sale.
- Lehmann told shareholders he was truly sorry that the bank was unable to stem the loss of trust that had accumulated over the years.
- Lehmann said the bank’s leadership fought hard to find a solution, but ultimately there were only two options: deal or bankruptcy.
- The Credit Suisse bonuses cut totaled 60M Swiss francs ($66.1M).
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Venture capital funding fell more than 50% in Q1 2023 compared to last year. Globally, VCs invested $76B in startups from January to March, compared to the $162B invested during the same period in 2022. More: - The decline is evident despite two large fundraising rounds announced earlier this year.
- Microsoft announced a $10B investment in OpenAI, and payments company Stripe raised $6.5B in the same quarter.
- If not for Microsoft’s investment in OpenAI, Q1 2023 would have been the worst for venture investment in more than five years.
- According to Crunchbase, VCs had a record $580B in cash raised but not yet deployed at the end of Q1.
- Investors expect several startup failures as companies run out of cash.
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JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon addressed the recent banking crisis in his annual letter to shareholders on Tuesday. Dimon said the crisis isn’t over yet, adding there would be repercussions from it for years to come. More: - In March, federal regulators shut down Silicon Valley Bank after it suffered a run on its deposits and was unable to raise funds.
- The bank’s failure caused a ripple effect across the banking sector, with the FDIC and U.S. Treasury committing to backstop regional banks impacted by the fallout.
- Dimon noted that the recent happenings are nothing like what occurred during the 2008 global financial crisis.
- Analysts have suggested that the recent bank failures have benefited huge banks like JPMorgan, which have seen their deposits swell in recent weeks.
- Dimon refuted the claim, stressing that any crisis that damages Americans’ trust in their banks damages all banks.
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FedEx plans to combine its FedEx Ground and FedEx Express delivery businesses into one entity. The move comes as activist investor D.E. Shaw pushed for changes at the delivery company and won two additional board seats. More: - FedEx said the restructure would cut costs and help the firm better compete with UPS and Amazon.
- The combined business will handle all deliveries starting June 2024.
- The reorganization is expected to cut $4B in permanent costs by the end of the company’s 2025 fiscal year.
- FedEx Freight will continue to provide freight transportation services as a separate entity.
- FedEx shares closed at $229.93 on Wednesday, up ~1.6% for the day; the company is up ~30% YTD.
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Savvy Games Group has agreed to buy game publisher Scopely for $4.9B. Savvy Games is owned by the Saudi government’s Public Investment Fund. Scopely joins Savvy Games’ growing list of recent acquisitions, including esports firms ESL and Faceit. More: - Scopely was founded in 2011 and publishes games like “Yahtzee with Buddies,” “Stumble Guys,” and “Marvel Strike Force.”
- According to Scopely CEO Brian Ward, the company is one of the fastest-growing game companies today.
- Over the years, Scopely has grown mostly through acquisitions, including FoxNext and GSN Games.
- Saudi Arabia plans to invest $38B to become the next hub for the video game industry.
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L’Oréal is buying Australian high-end cosmetics firm Aesop for $2.5B. L’Oréal is buying the brand from Brazil’s Natura & Co, which owns The Body Shop and Avon brands. Natura said the transaction would help its efforts to reduce debt and focus on its other brands. More: - The acquisition is the first for L’Oréal under CEO Nicolas Hieronimus, who assumed the role in May 2021.
- Aesop was founded in 1987 and was acquired by Natura in 2012.
- In 2017, Natura bought The Body Shop from L’Oréal for €1B ($1.1B).
- L’Oréal shares are up ~25% YTD and Natura’s are up ~17% YTD.
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- Bob Lee, the former CTO of Square and one of the co-founders of Cash App, was stabbed to death early Wednesday morning in San Francisco.
- Social Capital founder Chamath Palihapitiya’s annual letter to shareholders referred to the Fed’s years-long zero interest rate policy as a drug that resulted in growth at all costs, unsubstantiated funding rounds, overhiring, and corporate glut.
- U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy met with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen on Wednesday in Simi Valley, California, and stressed the importance of the relationship between the two countries.
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 |  | Vanessa Omeokachie writes the daily Inside Business newsletter. Her interests include finance, technology, and entrepreneurship. In her free time, she enjoys reading, hiking, attending concerts and music festivals, traveling, and exploring. Connect with her on Twitter @VanessaOmeo or on LinkedIn. |   | | Editor | Aaron Crutchfield is based in the high desert of California. Over the last two decades, he has spent time writing and editing at various local newspapers and defense contractors in California. When he's not working, he can often be found looking at the latest memes with his kids or working on his 1962 and 1972 Fords. | |
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Learn how you can cut $1 Million from your T&E program in this guide. | |
