In today’s briefing:
- Ohayo Japan | S&P 500 Claws Back Losses
- Japan Morning Connection: US Markets Well off the Lows Pointing to Better Start for JP
- Singapore Banks – Credit Growth Overshadowed by Deposit Growth, New Monthly HFD
- European Software: Fortnox (FNOX SS) Going Private – Might Makes Right
Ohayo Japan | S&P 500 Claws Back Losses
- US stocks ended a turbulent March with a rebound as the S&P 500 rose 0.6% to 5,612 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 1%, or roughly 400 points
- Ricoh acquired an additional 44.4% stake in its U.S. subsidiary, Elixagen Scientific, on March 31, 2025, making it wholly owned
- Independent Franchise Partners, a British investment firm, increased its stake in Shiseido to 6.25%, up from 5.2%
Japan Morning Connection: US Markets Well off the Lows Pointing to Better Start for JP
- Watch Softbank after bullish comments from ARM that it expects 50% DC GPU market share this year.
- Hegseth’s Japan trip concludes with no demand for higher defense spending.
- Shiseido was sharply higher yesterday after activist announces larger stake in an easy squeeze.
Singapore Banks – Credit Growth Overshadowed by Deposit Growth, New Monthly HFD
- Newest monthly release from MAS gives insight into 1Q25 for Singapore’s banks and it is not particularly positive
- The aggregate loan-to-deposit ratio (LDR) continues to move lower, a year ago it was 69.3% and now it’s at 67.3%
- Singapore’s banks added deposits of SGD125bn in the past 12 months through February compared with SGD48bn of loans
European Software: Fortnox (FNOX SS) Going Private – Might Makes Right
- Fortnox has announced a public tender offer from EQT and First Kraft for SEK90 per share, valuing the company at SEK54.9bn, representing a 38% premium over the last closing price.
- The Fortnox deal signals a recovery in Software M&A activity in 2025. It highlights the growing trend of SaaS companies going private, following similar moves by other European SaaS firms.
- Despite the premium, some shareholders may be dissatisfied. Similar criticisms have arisen in other recent deals, but the offer might succeed due to Fortnox’s outstanding stock market performance.
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