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| 1 | | ETF trading hit a record 30.7% of U.S. stock market turnover in 2022, up from 25.3% the year prior. This suggests a departure from their traditional role as long-term portfolio building blocks, as investors use them for trading on short-term market news and events. More: - In 2022, U.S. ETF trading volumes hit a record high of $44.1T, an increase of 22.5% year-on-year despite the plateauing of turnover proportion at 25%-27%.
- In the first several months of 2023, ETFs comprised around 30% of trading volumes, demonstrating their sustained significance.
- Domestic U.S. equities ETF direct market trade remained negligible, with 86% of ETF trading on the secondary market.
- The dominance of passive, index-tracking funds is a concern regarding the expanding share of ETF trading, although supporters counter that choosing an index is an active choice.
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What the numbers say: Bai Houshan is the founder and chair of Ronbay Technology. This Shanghai-listed company dominates the global market for high-nickel cathode electrodes used in EV batteries. Cathode electrodes represent up to 34% of EV battery component costs. Ronbay aims to expand its capacity six-fold by 2025. Why it matters: Bai's cathode electrode production challenges traditional automakers, especially in the EV and battery sectors. It highlights the U.S. and Europe's struggle to compete with China's cleantech and battery material advancements. IDTechEx predicts 12-fold growth in demand for EV battery materials by 2033; this presents a significant market opportunity. Where to see the impact: Ronbay is expanding its operations to the U.S. and Europe to exploit the increasing demand for EV battery materials, intensifying the global competition with South Korean rivals like EcoPro BM and LG. Chinese materials companies like Ronbay entering foreign markets may cause trade disputes and disrupt local cleantech manufacturing efforts in the U.S. and Europe. | | | |
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| 3 | | Nestle SA has appointed Anna Manz, the finance chief of the London Stock Exchange Group, as its new CFO to replace Francois-Xavier Roger. Unilever Plc will bid farewell to its CFO, Graeme Pitkethly, by May next year due to inflationary pressure in the consumer-goods industry. More: - The new CFOs will have to deal with the loss of market share while preserving profitability without spending too much on new items or promotions.
- The most senior woman in the firm and the first female CFO in Nestle's history will be Anna Manz.
- Nestle and Unilever had significant growth while their departing CFOs, Roger and Pitkethly, were in charge.
- Pitkethly had to deal with takeover rejection, cost-cutting initiatives, and failed acquisitions, which could have resulted in more extensive changes under new CEO Hein Schumacher.
- After the announcements, Unilever shares dropped 1.6% in London, and Nestle SA lost 1.7% in Swiss trading.
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| 4 | | Asda has acquired EG Group's U.K. and Ireland gas station business for $2.81B, creating a convenience company with $37.2B in annual revenue and positioning Asda as the second-largest grocer in the U.K. The purchase includes around 350 petrol stations and over 1,000 food-to-go locations. More: - According to Asda Chairman Stuart Rose, EG forecourts will eventually migrate to the Asda brand, and prices at Asda will stay the same due to the acquisition.
- Asda will expand Asda Express across EG premises as part of the agreement, and EG Group's Leon outlets will be included in Asda's lineup of retail locations.
- The Issa brothers, TDR, and Walmart are a few of the investors in Asda who will contribute about $557.65M in stock to the deal.
- The transaction is anticipated to improve Asda's balance sheet, increase earnings after rent, and produce synergies worth about $123.93M over the following three years.
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| 5 | | Jacek Olczak, CEO of Philip Morris International (PMI), is confident that the company's shift from cigarettes to less harmful alternatives will make it an ESG stock. The chief has seen some investors tentatively returning to PMI's investor relations team. More: - By 2025, PMI wants to generate half of its revenue from low-risk products thanks to the popularity of its IQOS heated tobacco stick.
- It is unlikely that PMI's independent goal of generating $1B in yearly earnings from healthcare and wellness products by 2025.
- The asset management industry's fastest-growing sector is ESG investing, yet the definition of ESG is continually developing.
- Olczak admits that factors, such as child labor in the supply chains for tobacco products, hurt PMI's ESG rating.
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| 6 | | Ford CEO Jim Farley has acknowledged the growing influence of Chinese automakers in the EV sector, namely BYD, and their sharp increase in sales over the past few years, which the government supported. These businesses pose a severe threat to U.S. producers like GM and Tesla. More: - The breakthroughs made by BYD in sodium-ion battery technology are viewed as promising for cheaper EVs and increased profit margins.
- With plans to open in 2026, Ford's partnership with China's CATL for a new $3.5B battery plant in Michigan promises to develop lithium iron phosphate batteries at a lower cost.
- Farley emphasized BYD's contribution to the creation of the LFP technology, which is regarded as a better battery than the lithium-ion batteries currently the norm in the industry.
- Due to tensions between the United States and China, questions have been raised about the Ford-CATL agreement, but Farley stresses the significance of allowing less expensive EV technology to benefit consumers and prevent rising pricing.
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- Opposition from local unions has thwarted billionaire Bernard Arnault's proposal to construct the first LVMH-run hotel in Beverly Hills.
- The NRO Director states that using commercial space companies to reach their ambitious goals and implementing new technologies will contribute to a fourfold increase in the number of satellites they have in orbit in the next ten years.
- JPMorgan Chase recently cut around 500 positions across its divisions, primarily in technology and operations, despite seeking to fill 13,000 vacancies.
- Chinese President Xi Jinping's "eternal dream" of becoming a space power is edging closer as the first Chinese civilian has been sent into orbit in preparation for a planned human-crewed Moon mission by 2030.
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Term of the Day Gross domestic product: Gross domestic product (GDP) is a measure of the total value of goods and services produced within a country’s borders in a given year. Question of the Week Should companies take steps to avoid employee burnout, or should it be the individual's responsibility to manage it themselves? Join the conversation |
INSIDE BUSINESS LEADERBOARD (7 DAYS) |
 | Freelance Writer | | Shriram is pursuing Master’s in Business with Marketing at Warwick Business School. He worked as a Senior Consultant in Tech and Political Consultancies before his Masters. He is passionate about Tech, Marketing, Strategy, Anthropology and Politics. He is also the Postgraduate Ambassador for Warwick Business School. | | This newsletter was edited by Aaron Crutchfield | |
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