Blackstone is finding fewer opportunities in India, where it says “serious governance issues” threaten to erode investor returns amid the slowest pace of economic growth in a decade. “The most prudent assumptions made of India are turning out to be highly optimistic”

Blackstone Sees Fewer Breaks as Singh Founders: Corporate India

Blackstone Group LP (BX) is finding fewer opportunities in India, where it says “serious governance issues” threaten to erode investor returns amid the slowest pace of economic growth in a decade. The world’s largest manager of alternative assets including private equity and real estate has been “very cautious” in Asia’s third-biggest economy because it is becoming more difficult for the government to make the right decisions, Akhil Gupta, chairman of Blackstone’s Indian unit, said in an interview in his office in Mumbai. “The most prudent assumptions made of India are turning out to be highly optimistic,” he said. “One doesn’t see a way out. I haven’t ever seen such pessimism when we talk to Indian company or government officials.” Read more of this post

Chicago Next? Windy City Cash Balance Plummets To Only $33 Million As Debt Triples

Chicago Next? Windy City Cash Balance Plummets To Only $33 Million As Debt Triples

Tyler Durden on 07/28/2013 11:06 -0400

While everyone’s attention is focused on the Detroit bankruptcy, and just what assets the city will sell in lieu of raising a DIP loan, perhaps it is time to refocus attention to the city 300 miles west: Chicago. According to the Chicago Sun Times citing year-end audits, Obama’s former right hand man, Rahm Emanuel, closed the books on 2012 with $33.4 million in unallocated cash on hand — down from $167 million the year before — while adding to the mountain of debt piled on Chicago taxpayers. In addition to a liquidity problem, Chicago may also be quite insolvent as the city’s total long-term debt soared to nearly $29 billion. That’s $10,780 for every one of the city’s nearly 2.69 million residents. More than a decade ago, the debt load was $9.6 billion or $3,338 per resident. Of course, in a world in which debt is “wealth”, this is great news… at least until debt becomes “bankruptcy.” Read more of this post

U.S. chief executives can’t break cost-cutting habit

U.S. chief executives can’t break cost-cutting habit

Fri, Jul 26 2013

By Lewis Krauskopf, Patricia Kranz and Lucia Mutikani

(Reuters) – A disconcerting trend lurks beneath the recent round of solid profit forecasts announced by companies ranging from United Technologies Corp (UTX.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) to Wendy’s Co (WEN.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz): More than three years into the recovery, CEOs are still relying on cost cuts to prop up earnings.

While the cuts are not as severe as those that followed the 2008 financial crisis, companies remain cautious, mindful that revenue growth is still tepid. As a result, many appear to be more comfortable wringing efficiencies out of their businesses than gearing up for accelerated production. Read more of this post

Young, Rich Real-Estate Dummies

Young, Rich Real-Estate Dummies

The Wall Street Journal reports that well-to-do young Americans prefer to put their savings into “safe” luxury real estate rather than “risky” equities. Some are wealthy heirs and heiresses who have nothing better to do with their money. Others are members of the nouveau riche, cashing out their Facebook shares for houses in San Francisco. Yet most people described in the article are simply young, rich and dumb.

Matt Winter, a 28-year-old interior designer in L.A. says that he “always felt that having your money in property is the safest and best thing to do if you want to grow your personal wealth.” That was why he spent $1.7 million on his new home, after having spent about $1 million on his first home two years ago. Winter goes on to say that he owns no stocks because equities “spook him.” Read more of this post

Wall Street’s Biggest Job Cuts Yet to Come, Whitney Says

Wall Street’s Biggest Job Cuts Yet to Come, Whitney Says

Wall Street firms must cut more jobs to boost their return on equity and satisfy shareholders, said Meredith Whitney, a banking analyst and founder of Meredith Whitney Advisory Group LLC.

“The biggest layoffs are ahead of us,” Whitney said in a Bloomberg Television interview today with Tom Keene, Sara Eisen and Scarlet Fu. “It’s no fun, it’s painful but you have to downsize dramatically, get more efficient on every single line of business.” Read more of this post

The poison pill in India’s search for cheap food

The poison pill in India’s search for cheap food

1:35am EDT

By Rajendra Jadhav and Jo Winterbottom

MUMBAI/NEW DELHI (Reuters) – Nearly a decade ago, the Indian government ruled out a ban on the production and use of monocrotophos, the highly toxic pesticide that killed 23 children this month in a village school providing free lunches under a government-sponsored program. Despite being labeled highly hazardous by the World Health Organization (WHO), a panel of government experts was persuaded by manufacturers that monocrotophos was cheaper than alternatives and more effective in controlling pests that decimate crop output. Read more of this post