VENTURE CAPITAL POST

The Los Angeles-based fashion retailer Nasty Gal is reducing the number of employees by 10 percent as part of its strategic restructuring. The increasing market competition and uncertainty in financing aspects are forcing the company to reduce the costs. Several former employees moved court against Nasty Gal against layoffs.

Investors are concerned as the US stock index futures turned weaker. The marginal recovery in oil price amid drop in the US dollar puts the Wall Street on cautious note. On the other hand, Asian and European stocks were trading marginally higher on oil price recovery and drop in US dollar.

BEHL is going to purchase the leading German waste to energy recycler EEW for €1.44 Billion. The deal appears to be the largest ever Chinese direct investment in Germany. Following legal obligation, the transaction will be cleared under the German Foreign Trade and Payments Ordinance.

The Dutch banking major ING Groep's revenues for the fourth quarter were above the analysts' forecasts. ING's exposure to the oil companies is putting pressure on its stock, which suffered 20 percent drop. However, ING is also receiving indirect benefits from lower oil prices.

The gold buying demand from China is surging from last December onwards owing investors' priority to safe haven assets. The sluggish stock markets, weaker currency and lower global prices are prime reasons for the rising demand for the yellow metal. The consumption rose 3.7 percent to 985.9 metric tons in 2015.

The lower oil price for about 19 months is benefiting the consumers, but creating a lot of problems for the global governments and business firms. Many banks and the US government forecast oil price above $40 a barrel this year. The oil price fell to below $30 during the past 19 months from $107 a barrel.

The latest forecast indicates 50 percent rebound in oil prices by the end of 2016. The oil price could be higher by $15 per barrel this year taking the New York crude to $46 a barrel by fourth quarter and Brent to $48 during the same period. The drop in US shale output is likely to drive oil price up in the second half of 2016.

Gramercy said that it will pursue more than 1.3 billion US dollar from the government of Peru over a land bond clash. The dispute relates to bonds issued as per the military dictatorship in the 1960s and 1970s as reimbursement to farmers who lost their lands under the agrarian reform.

Citigroup holds view that it's too early to come to a conclusion about the state of the world's largest economy. It advises investors not to offload stocks over China. Citigroup in its latest research reports terms the present uncertainty and sluggishness in the Chinese economy and markets as a 'correction.'

China's benchmark Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) fell to lowest in the three-and-a-half years. PMI was at 49.4 for January as against average forecast of 49.6. The PMI was 49.7 in December 2015. The disappointed China factory output data pulled oil prices lower.

Credit Suisse Group AG and Barclays Plc will pay combined $154.3 million to settle regulatory investigations into their 'dark pools.' The New York Attorney General said that the fight against the fraud and rigging in the trading mechanism would continue further. The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) observed that Barclays and credit Suisse have misled their investors by providing inaccurate information.

Gold soared to three-month high early this week as investors switched over to safe have following the concerns about the global economy. The US Federal Reserve indicated a challenging global economy and this may not prevent it from raising interest rate. Gold price reached to $1,127.80 on 27 January and this propelled investors to book profits.

Global investors are withdrawing from Russian stock markets as volatility is high in equities and currency Ruble. The continuous drop in oil price is impacting the Russian economy much as it's the main revenue source for the country. The gap between onshore and offshore traded equities is narrowing down as foreign investors are selling off.

Freeport-McMoRan said that it has planned to trim up to $10 billion debt through earnings from joint venture transactions and asset sales. The mining group also reported a loss of $4.1 billion for the fourth quarter.

US oil explorers are expected to report a combined loss of about $14 billion for the year 2015, as a result of the sharpest oil price slump in a generation. Bankruptcies and disappointing debt exchanges have led the oil explorers to cut thousands of staffs, trim dividends, and abandon drilling projects to preserve capital and resist insolvency.