Global Business

The creditors’ dilemma  

Adiantku 6 days ago

The role lenders play in enabling SMEs to achieve their potential cannot be overstated. Without their timely and strategic injections of capital, companies would neither be able to get off the ground nor have the necessary funding to grow, expand and invest.

Moreover, with KYC requirements and covenants, lenders play an invaluable role in keeping SMEs on track and focussed on their primary business objectives.

Simon Fry, Partner at ReSolve, the business advisory and restructuring house, said: When a lender is satisfied with its due diligence and signs a loan facility, it is in good faith that the SME it has invested in will achieve what it has set out to do. However, there are extenuating circumstances that can interrupt a business’s trajectory – and COVID-19 is an obvious culprit. The pandemic and ensuing economic uncertainty have rocked many SMEs, leaving them in an unexpectedly difficult position with a weak … Read the rest

If Psychedelic Treatment Goes Mainstream, These May Be Some Top Beneficiaries

Adiantku 6 days ago

Psychedelic treatments, such as psilocybin could significantly alter the way modern medicine addresses mental health. “I think that psychedelic medicines offer a new paradigm in mental health,” MindMed’s co-founder and co-CEO JR Rahn told Yahoo Finance. “Traditional medicines that are treating things like depression, addiction, and anxiety really are seeking to numb and mask the issues that surround these illnesses. So, things like Xanax, while they might make you feel better, they can also be highly addictive and are not dealing with the underlying problem.”

In addition to those issues, researchers have also begun to dive into psilocybin and its potential impact on issues such as weight loss and obesity. After all, psilocybin reportedly activates serotonin receptors, or “nature’s own appetite suppressant,” as noted by Psychology Today. “This powerful brain chemical curbs cravings and shuts off appetite. It makes you feel satisfied even if your stomach is not full. The … Read the rest

PG&E’s new CEO is the first woman to leap from top of one Fortune 500 company to another

Adiantku 6 days ago

Good morning, Broadsheet readers! Marissa Mayer is back, a governor flips on a mask mandate, and a female CEO puts up a Fortune 500 first. Go get your Thursday!

– A Fortune 500 first. Regular readers will know that we’re in a habit of announcing new female Fortune 500s with a bit of fanfare—after all there are only 37 of them! But today’s new addition is a particularly unusual case.

Patti Poppe has been named CEO of PG&E, which, when we published the Fortune 500 earlier this year, was No. 189 on the ranking. However, Poppe’s new job won’t increase the number of women running Fortune 500 companies, since she’s coming to the gig directly from CMS Energy, No. 443.

Given the rarity of female leaders among these massive companies, going directly from one to another was, until this moment, unheard of. The last woman to come close … Read the rest

Shoppers are stocking up early on Covid Christmas essentials

Adiantku 7 days ago

Shoppers are stocking up on festive groceries earlier than ever, with Asda yesterday reporting a surge in frozen turkeys and “lockdown-proof” items alongside a slowdown in quarterly sales.

The supermarket chain said that sales of Christmas trees had increased by 83 per cent, festive lights by 57 per cent, Christmas puddings by 71 per cent and mince pies by 44 per cent, compared with the third quarter of last year.

In a sign that families are preparing for smaller gatherings as social distancing restrictions may remain in place, sales of frozen turkey crowns, which serve three to four people rather than larger families, have increased by 230 per cent.

“After a rollercoaster year, it’s clear our customers are already planning for a very different Christmas,” Roger Burnley, 54, chief executive of Asda, said. “We have already seen a marked shift in buying patterns, with customers stocking up their freezers and … Read the rest

La-Z-Boy Sprints on Strong Q2 Results

Adiantku 7 days ago

La-Z-Boy Incorporated (NYSE:LZB) reported stronger-than-expected results for its second quarter on Tuesday.

The Monroe, Michigan-based furniture giant reported consolidated sales increased 2.7% to $459.1 million, while written same-store sales for the entire La-Z-Boy Furniture Galleries network increased 34%

Consolidated operating income was $47.9 million versus $29.6 million, an increase of 62%

Net income attributable to La-Z-Boy Incorporated per diluted share was $0.75 versus $0.48

The company boasted a strong cash generation, with fiscal year-to-date cash from operating activities of $195.7 million. Cash was $353.4 million at quarter end after full repayment of $50 million outstanding balance on credit line

Said CEO Kurt Darrow, “Demand across all La-Z-Boy Incorporated businesses is at record levels as consumers continue to allocate more discretionary spending to home furnishings. Orders are fueling an unprecedented backlog and our supply chain team is doing a great job to continually increase weekly production to service customers and drive … Read the rest

How to succeed in the subscriptions business

Adiantku 7 days ago

When Tien Tzuo joined Salesforce in 1999 as the then-startup’s eleventh employee, he witnessed “the dawn of SaaS,” or software-as-a-service. Offering on-demand software to customers on a subscription basis was founder Marc Benioff’s grand business innovation—and his golden ticket to unfathomable riches.

Instead of just selling a one-off software product, as Oracle, Benioff’s former workplace, did at the time, Salesforce would create a more intimate relationship with customers. “Our big realization was we actually can see how our customers are using our product, and we can understand that, and we can actually deliver more to them,” Tzuo told an audience of business executives at a virtual event hosted jointly by the Fortune CEO Initiative and Fortune Global Forum on Tuesday.

In other words, Salesforce would hook subscribers, collect data on people’s habits and desires, and then continually update the product. The speed of the feedback loop and the emphasis … Read the rest

What are the benefits of a Shareholders’ agreement?

Adiantku 1 week ago

With COVID-19 continuing to have a significant impact on all aspects of business, many of which have been unforeseen, a shareholders’ agreement has never been more important.

These agreements can provide for many eventualities, while the absence of a shareholders’ agreement opens up more potential for costly disputes and disagreements between shareholders.

Whether you’re a minority or majority shareholder in a company, it’s important to consider drawing up and implementing a shareholders’ agreement.

Dave Paterson, Partner in the Corporate Law team at Blacks Solicitors, discusses why businesses should implement a shareholders’ agreement and the benefits that will be returned.

‘Good Leavers’ vs. ‘Bad Leavers’

In Owner Managed businesses, a limited company’s shareholders and directors are often the same people. If a director or shareholder leaves the company, then the remaining shareholders may not want them to keep hold of their shares or have to pay market value to repurchase … Read the rest

Trump's Favorite Metal Could Hit $5,000 in 2021

Adiantku 1 week ago

Trump loves gold. The White House decor is now a shrine to the precious metal, and there’s enough gold adorning Mar-a-Lago to fill the central bank coffers of your average country.

Even his private plane boasts gold-plated seatbelt buckles, gold bathroom fixtures, and gold silk wallpaper.

Gold loves Trump, too …

It’s been a banner year for the world’s number one safe-haven asset.

Gold has experienced a meteoric rise, hitting a record in August when it was up 40% on the year.

An unprecedented pandemic-induced economic meltdown, a weakening dollar, and the cobra effect of massive a government stimulus have sent financial markets into a tailspin.

The fear index is at an all-time high, and it’s poised to get worse.

Investors are terrified of a contested presidential election.

Wall Street giants, most recently UBS–are telling clients to flee the markets and buy up gold.

Trump, for all his love of … Read the rest