Aurelia Butler

(Reuters) -Online brokerage Robinhood (NASDAQ:HOOD) Markets beat estimates for first-quarter profit on Wednesday, thanks to robust crypto trading volumes and rate hikes that boosted its net interest revenue. The approval of the first spot bitcoin ETFs in the U.S. in January boosted sentiment towards the crypto industry, which had been bruised by several high-profile collapses over the past two years.The company however disclosed earlier this week that its U.S. crypto trading arm received a so-called Wells notice from the SEC over tokens traded on its platform.The notice is issued when the regulator plans to bring enforcement action against a company. “The Wells Notice clouds the future of this income stream,” said Lauren Ashcraft, financial services analyst at Emarketer.But companies generally have an opportunity to respond to a Wells Notice and rectify situations, so Robinhood “still potentially has a chance to maintain this significant source of revenue,” she added. Robinhood said it was disappointed with the notice but would contest the SEC’s claims and, if necessary, fight the regulator in court.”We’ve run our crypto business very carefully. We’ve been very selective about the coins we offer, and we’ve not offered services that have been criticized by the SEC,” CFO Jason Warnick said.STRONG TRADING IN OPTIONS, EQUITIESTrading in equities and options also held up, thanks to hopes of a soft landing that have encouraged retail traders to wade back into the market, allowing the Menlo Park, California-based company to rake in 59% higher transaction-based revenue.The momentum has continued in the second quarter despite some uncertainty around the timing of rate cuts by the Federal Reserve, Warnick said.Net interest revenue jumped 22% to $254 million, helped by the Federal Reserve’s policy tightening that has allowed companies to earn more from their deposits and bond investments. Rate hikes also let brokers like Robinhood, which allow traders to borrow against their investments, charge higher interest on such loans.The company reported a profit of $157 million or 18 cents per share for the three months ended March 31, compared with expectations of 6 cents per share, according to LSEG. It had reported a loss of $511 million or 57 cents per share in the same quarter last year.Net revenues soared 40% to $618 million. Shares climbed nearly 3% after the bell. More

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Inflation and higher interest rates have impacted News Corp’s businesses and dented its advertising sales.The company’s News Media segment, which includes the New York Post, The Times, the Sunday Times, among others, came under pressure as marketers kept a tight leash on ad budgets in an uncertain economy.News Corp, a part of media baron Rupert Murdoch’s empire, said it has been reviewing the company’s structure and that the “work is intense and ongoing.”Shares of the New York-based company fell nearly 3% in trading after the bell.Revenue fell 1% to $2.42 billion in the quarter ended March 31, below estimates of $2.46 billion, according to Visible Alpha.Revenue at the Dow Jones business grew 3% to $544 million, while revenue at its Digital Real Estate Services unit rose 7%, driven by strong performance at REA Group, which operates residential and commercial property websites in Australia.The company’s revenue at its book publishing segment fell 2% to $506 million.Revenue from its subscription video services unit, which includes the Foxtel Group and Australian News Channel (ANC), decreased 5% to $455 million. Earlier on Wednesday, News Corp’s peers Fox Corp and New York Times beat Wall Street estimates for quarterly profit and revenue. More

(Reuters) – The International Monetary Fund said on Wednesday it had reached a staff-level agreement with Democratic Republic of Congo on the final review of a $1.5 billion loan programme, noting the need for Congo to manage properly funds from a revised mining deal.This takes Congo one step closer to completing an IMF programme for the first time. Previous agreements have been derailed by issues including a lack of transparency in its vast mining sector.”Performance under the (three-year) program has been generally positive, with most quantitative objectives met and key reforms implemented, albeit at a slow pace,” the Fund said in a statement.Once approved by the IMF board, the agreement will allow for the disbursement of a final tranche of around $200 million.The IMF noted that the world’s top supplier of cobalt – the mineral used in smartphones – and the third-largest producer of copper must account for the positive impact of a recently amended Sicomines joint venture with Chinese companies in its revised budget law for 2024.”In addition, mechanisms will need to be put in place or reinforced to ensure the proper use and governance of these funds,” the Fund said.President Felix Tshisekedi pushed for the revision of the 2008 infrastructure for minerals deal with Sinohydro Corp and China Railway Group to bring more benefits for Congo. An agreement was signed in March.”The IMF is concerned about the mechanisms for using this money and has asked for it to be paid into the public treasury accounts rather than being managed by an agency as has been done in the past,” a finance ministry official, who requested anonymity, told Reuters.Publishing mining contracts was also one of the conditions of the IMF programme and last week Congo shared long-awaited details of the revised Sicomines terms, which include around $7 billion of infrastructure investments from the Chinese side provided that copper prices remain high.Under the previous version of the agreement, only $822 million of $3 billion promised to infrastructure investments was disbursed, according to a 2023 report by Congo’s state auditor.The revised deal still includes terms which Congolese and international civil society organisations see as disadvantageous to Congo. These include Sicomines’s exemption from paying taxes until 2040. More