Counterfeit goods are big business. Shoes, clothing, handbags, electronics: While trading items infringing on international intellectual property laws is illegal, the corresponding market has been bustling over the last couple of years. According to data from the Global Trade in Fakes report by the OECD and EUIPO, trading with counterfeit goods amounted to roughly… Read More »Fake Goods
With Musk’s purchase of Twitter he used a leveraged buyout. The chart below from Statista is a good explanation of how this works. What Is a Leveraged Buyout? A leveraged buyout (LBO) is the acquisition of another company using a significant amount of borrowed money (bonds or loans) to meet… Read More »Leveraged Buyout
Despite the dramatic deflation of SPAC-mania in recent months — and a downturn in the broader market — some SPACs are still announcing new mergers, Axios’ Kia Kokalitcheva writes. Why it matters: The SPAC category’s demise has been heavily predicted by skeptics of the model, but it hasn’t quite happened… Read More »Merger Activity
We are slowing moving back to pre pandemic employment percentage. The labor force participation rate — the share of the adult population either working or looking for work — has not quite recovered from pre-pandemic levels. A new paper sheds light on one factor behind the shortfall: substance abuse, Emily… Read More »Not Everyone Is Working
The music industry has always been a giant only the medium has changed over the years, from the street corner to the streaming services. Money is to be made in creating content, however real money is created in marketing and distributing someone one else’s content. Deezer is going public via… Read More »Music Streaming Market Share
The number of unsolicited texts and calls are, now is a good time to stay vigilant. You’re not going crazy: You are getting slammed with more annoying spam calls — and now annoying texts on your cell phone — than at any point in the history of these devices. Why it matters:… Read More »Scam Surge
Interest rate increases, inflation, employee shortages, conflict in the former USSR, COVID-19… In many years, any one or two of these could have put a damper on the number of businesses sold. However, business sales continue at a fevered pace. Last year, global M&A transactions totaled $5.8 trillion, 48% above… Read More »Record Breaking # of Business Sales
With so many people locked into a very favorable mortgage rate, it may not make financial sense for them to sell. My first house loan had a rate of 6%. Nine out of ten American mortgages carry an interest rate of less than 5%, the official level at which most… Read More »Mortgages and Mortgage Rates
Looking forward to tomorrow’s WATT (Women at the Top) meeting as I always learn so much from these amazing ladies. Thank you to our members who generously share their knowledge and sometimes even provide surprise gifts. A special shout out to Shannon Fox (Kiss me Kate) for the lovely purse and Kay… Read More »Thank You
We may need more than the fed to reign in Inflation. Corporate credit is defying the Fed’s push for tighter money, Axios’ Neil Irwin writes. Recently, corporate bond yields have fallen relative to Treasuries, meaning businesses lending conditions are still highly stimulative. It is one of many signs that markets… Read More »Corporate Bond Rate