Business

Amazon snaps up James Bond, owner MGM for $8.45 BLN as streaming war heats up

Amazon.com Inc said that it is buying MGM, the fabled U.S. movie studio home to the James Bond franchise, for $8.45 billion. This gives it a huge library of films and TV shows and ramping up competition with streaming rivals led by Netflix and Disney+.

Privately-held MGM, or Metro Goldwyn Mayer, was founded in 1924. This owns the Epix cable channel and makes popular TV shows including Fargo, Vikings and Shark Tank. Mike Hopkins, senior vice president of Prime Video and Amazon Studios said that the real financial value behind this deal is the treasure trove of IP in the deep catalogue that they had planned to reimagine and develop together with MGM’s talented team. High-quality storytelling can gain so many opportunities through this.

There is a long list of competitors for Amazon’s Prime video such as Netflix Inc, Walt Disney Co’s Disney+, HBO Max and Apple Inc’s Apple TV+. These companies are increasing their spending and expanding in international markets. They are aiming to capture the pandemic-led shift to binge-watching shows online.

The proliferating streaming services are also scrambling for brand. They can expand with libraries of older shows and movies. Analysts have said that this is a big motivation for another round of consolidation of media properties. This serves as a brief hiatus during the pandemic. AT&T Inc has announced a $43-billion deal last week to spin out its Warner Media business and combine it with Discovery Inc. After Whole Foods Market, this is the Amazon’s second biggest acquisition. It was bought for $13.7 billion in 2017.

The price is about 37 times MGM’s 2021 estimated EBITDA which represents a lofty premium relative to other deals. Jeff Bezos, Amazon’s CEO said that when they win a Golden Globe, it helps them to sell more shoes. This was stated by him in order to refer to Amazon’s diverse business divisions. Amazon posted its fourth consecutive record quarterly profit in this April. It had also boasted more than 200 million Prime loyalty subscribers.

Business

LexisNexis risk solutions study reveals sharp rise of financial crime compliance costs

Decision makers inside banks, investment firms, asset managers and insurance firms identify the drivers impacting financial crime compliance. LexisNexis® Risk Solutions revealed that the results of its annual True Cost of Financial Crime Compliance Study for the U.S. and Canada. The total projected cost of financial crime compliance for the region is approximately $49.9 billion. The survey illustrates the sharp increase in financial crime compliance costs.

The study projects the average annual cost of financial crime compliance for U.S. financial institutions with $10 billion. Pandemic Continues to Spur Growth. The pandemic continues to negatively impact compliance operations. Sixty eight percent of U.S. respondents report longer times required to complete due diligence. Fifty five percent of U.S. respondents report reduced productivity compared.

More U.S. financial institutions now rank real estate and hospitality as top money laundering risk segments. Crime involving digital payments, trade-based money laundering and money mule schemes are on the rise. Digital currency is a growing problem for Canadian firms. Crimes involving digital payments have the greatest impact on compliance costs. Cryptocurrency crimes have the greatest impact on compliance costs for Canadian firms. The survey results demonstrate that financial institutions are battling a broader set of issues.

Survey respondents indicate that a lack of current and extensive data tops the list of Know Your Customer (KYC). Leslie Bailey, vice president of financial crime compliance strategy for LexisNexis Risk Solutions stated that the study shows clear linkages between the pandemic, digital crime and increasing regulations. Hence, financial institutions need to prepare for expanded compliance obligations and risks from emerging financial crime. Bailey added that digital transformation is a game-changer for financial crime compliance operations.

This will require a sophisticated approach that incorporates insight into digital behaviors. This study surveyed 145 decision-makers in the U.S. and Canada. Responses were collected in June 2019, August 2020 and June 2021. Organizations such as banks, investment firms, asset management firms and insurance firms. The total annual cost of compliance across firms was calculated using survey data. The spend amount was generated by multiplying the average percent allocated to financial crime costs.

Business

COP26 delegates agree on need to deliver on $100 BLN climate finance pledge

Delegates heading to the COP26 U.N. climate summit in Glasgow. These delegates agreed that they must deliver on the $100 billion per year pledge. COP26 president Alok Sharma said that, it is to help most vulnerable nations for tackling the climate change.

After many days of meetings at the pre-COP26 climate event, which happened in Italy, Sharma said that there was a consensus to do more. Which is to keep the 1.5 degrees Celsius target within reach, adding more needed to be done collectively in terms of national climate plans.

The COP26 conference in Glasgow aims to secure more ambitious climate action. This is from nearly 200 countries, those all that have signed the 2015 Paris Agreement for limiting the global warming, well below 2.0 degrees Celsius. And to 1.5 degrees, above pre-industrial levels.

Business

City’s exposure to Evergrande is very minimal-Hong Kong finance Chief

Hong Kong’s exposure to debt-laden developer China Evergrande Group is very minimal at 0.05%. This is of banking assets, South China Morning Post reported, citing the city’s finance minister. Financial Secretary Paul Chan told the newspaper that it is very minimal and won’t cause them any systemic risks. He added that he had arrived at the conclusion after a recent audit of the local banking sector’s exposure to the company.

Chan also said that the Hong Kong’s stock market was inevitably subject to some volatility. This is amidst a recent mainland crackdown on some industries. But still he believed any setback would be temporary. With liabilities of $305 billion, Evergrande has sparked concerns its cash crunch could spread through China’s financial system. This may reverberate globally and that is a worry that has eased with the Chinese central bank’s vow, to protect homebuyers’ interests. Evergrande has missed two bond interest payments. Bondholders have said this and its offshore debt, amounting to about $20 billion, trades at distressed levels.