Latest news with #ABL
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Oxford Finance Appoints Nick McDearis to Lead ABL Originations, Expands into Traditional ABL Market
ALEXANDRIA, Va., July 28, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oxford Finance LLC ("Oxford" or the "Company"), a leading specialty finance firm, is pleased to announce the appointment of Nick McDearis to lead Asset-Based Lending (ABL) Originations. This strategic hire marks a significant milestone as Oxford enters the traditional ABL market. Nick McDearis brings nearly 20 years of experience in the ABL industry and a proven track record of success in originating and structuring complex financing solutions. His expertise and leadership will be instrumental in driving Oxford's growth and diversification strategy. Prior to Oxford, Mr. McDearis was a Managing Director at Ares Management, where he was responsible for originating, underwriting, structuring and executing middle-market sponsored and non-sponsored senior debt investments. Prior to Ares, he held roles at Monroe Capital, AloStar Capital, and First Capital. "We are thrilled to welcome Nick to the Oxford team," said Tracy Maziek, Senior Managing Director & Group Head of Oxford. "Nick's extensive experience and deep understanding of the ABL market make him the ideal leader to spearhead our expansion into the traditional ABL space. This move aligns with Oxford's long-term vision to broaden its service offerings and provide flexible financing solutions to companies in a wider range of industries and with differing needs." Since its inception, Oxford has been a trusted partner in the healthcare sector, providing tailored financial solutions to support the growth and success of its borrowers. With this tactical expansion, Oxford is positioned to fully address the needs of businesses and sponsors in the middle market. "I am excited to join Oxford and spearhead this new business line," said Nick McDearis. "Oxford has an outstanding reputation in the healthcare industry. I look forward to building on that foundation as we expand the Company's product offering with comprehensive and customized financing solutions for asset-based borrowers." About Oxford Finance LLC Oxford Finance LLC is a specialty finance firm providing senior secured loans to public and private companies operating in a variety of industries worldwide. For over 20 years, Oxford has delivered flexible financing solutions to over 700 companies, allowing borrowers to maximize their equity by leveraging their assets. Since 2002, Oxford has originated more than $14 billion in loans. Oxford is headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia, with additional offices serving the greater San Diego, San Francisco, Boston and New York City metropolitan areas. For more information, visit View source version on Contacts For more information, please contact:Amanda SternDirector of MarketingOxford Finance703.519.4900media@ Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
The Guardian
6 days ago
- Sport
- The Guardian
WNBA truths and fictions: the real state of the league in 2025
The WNBA is one of those leagues that is perpetually at the crossroads. In the 1990s, the league saw off the challenge of the American Basketball League (ABL), which paid higher salaries but lacked the NBA's marketing muscle, but perhaps that victory gave the NBA and WNBA a dose of complacency. Attendance steadily dropped for several years, and went through revolving doors from city to city – or into permanent hiatus. Now, with women's sports in the middle of a growth spurt and the dazzling skills of Caitlin Clark on display, the WNBA has an age-old issue: More money, more problems – or, at least, more critics conjuring up more questions. We live in a media landscape in which the fretting over 'generational talents' is so robust that NBA fans started panicking about Cooper Flagg when he had a poor shooting performance in his first Summer League game. As anyone knows from following her college career, she doesn't just have extraordinary shooting range. She can dominate a game with her passing even if her shots aren't falling. To be sure, Clark certainly has a lot of work to do before she turns the corner from being the league's most exciting player to becoming the league's best player. In her rookie year, Basketball Reference calculated her PER, a measure of overall effectiveness, at 18.8, nowhere near the top four of A'ja Wilson (34.9), Breanna Stewart (26.4), Brittney Griner (26.0) and Napheesa Collier (25.1). But PER tends to favor forwards and centers – such Clark's Indiana teammate, 2023 top overall draft pick Aliyah Boston, who was also ahead of Clark. Among guards, she was third. She also led the league in assists per game with 8.4, with only Alyssa Thomas (7.9) anywhere close. On the other hand, she also led the league in turnovers with a staggering mark of 5.6 per game – Thomas again was second at 3.6. This year, Clark is struggling with injuries, and most of her scoring and shooting numbers have dropped significantly. Given the ridiculously short window of a WNBA season, she may not have time to pull her season averages up to where they were last year. The WNBA actually has a trio of young 'generational talent' guards who have come into the league in the 2020s. The first was Sabrina Ionescu, a record-smashing triple-double machine from Oregon who had a slow, injury-riddled start to her pro career but has since made the All-WNBA second team three straight years – and surely had a case to make the first team ahead of Clark last year. The next is Paige Bueckers, who is putting together a rookie season almost on par with Clark's season last year. In a year or two, depending on when she declares for the draft, the WNBA will add USC's JuJu Watkins. In the media and player All-Star voting, the leader was Bueckers' teammate in Dallas, Allisha Gray. Funny how they don't seem to be held responsible for the Wings being in last place, and yet critics harp on Clark because Indiana isn't dominating. So the fans got it wrong in ranking Clark first and Ionescu fifth. But the players' votes were harsh on stars (Clark) and Olympians (Jackie Young was 12th; Kelsey Plum a bewildering 16th). For once, the media may have gotten it right, ranking her third. Truth or fiction: Truth In a recent anonymous survey of WNBA by the Athletic, a majority of respondents said Clark will be the face of the WNBA in five years. But it was a slim majority of 53.8%. Watkins was second, Bueckers was third. Next was the first non-guard, Clark nemesis Angel Reese, and A'ja Wilson, who was merely the MVP of the WNBA (for the third time) and the Olympics in 2024. And yet the WNBA is headed toward its highest average attendance ever (see below), propelled somewhat by Clark but also by the fervor behind the expansion Golden State Valkyries. While ratings certainly drop when she's out injured, they don't fall through the floor. Perhaps the fact that Clark has not immediately established herself as the best player in the league has made people realize that veterans like Wilson, Stewart, Griner, Collier and Ionescu know how to play some ball, too. Truth or fiction: Fiction In the cartoon Futurama, a female computer is horrified to learn that the men who have landed on an all-women's planet made fun of women's basketball. 'What??! Did you explain how the women's good fundamentals make up for their inability to dunk?' roars the computer, voiced by Bea Arthur. The men scoffed at the concept. But WNBA players' fundamentals are indeed pretty good, most notably free throws – the NBA's highest overall percentage of the past 10 years (78.4%, 2023-24) trails behind the WNBA's lowest (78.5%, 2024, down from 80.0% the year before and 80.8% in 2021). The WNBA is also more of a passing league than the NBA, which sees its stars shine in one-on-one isolations. In 2024, 68.6% of field goals in WNBA play were the result of assists. In the NBA last season, the number was 63.6%. In the NBA, you may see Anthony Edwards explode past a defender for a dunk. In the WNBA, you may see Caitlin Clark whip a pass through a seam mere mortals wouldn't have anticipated. True basketball fans appreciate both, and the US has a lot of true basketball fans. Truth or fiction: Fiction WNBA officials have had their share of detractors this year, among them standout players Angel Reese (Chicago) and Kelsey Plum (Los Angeles), coaches Natalie Nakase (Golden State) and Stephanie White (Indiana). The latter's criticism followed a game against the Connecticut Sun in which Clark was poked in the eye in the third quarter, and Clark's assailant was fouled near the end of the game with the outcome not in doubt, prompting a scuffle that saw three people ejected. White's complaint was a familiar refrain: 'The referees lost control of the game.' Did they? The eye poke on Clark drew a flagrant foul on Connecticut's Jacy Sheldon, while Clark and two Connecticut players got technical fouls for the ensuing fracas. In the last minute, Sheldon drove into Indiana's Sophie Cunningham, who pulled Sheldon down onto the floor. Cunningham could argue that Sheldon initiated the contact by lowering her shoulder and charging into her like a running back or rugby player, and that she accidentally pulled down Sheldon while stumbling backwards. But she and the Fever have embraced the notion that Cunningham filled the role of an NHL enforcer, protecting their star player when the refs wouldn't. Cunningham's jersey sales went through the roof, and entrepreneurs are selling commemorative T-shirts in her honor. Maybe the WNBA has found a new source of revenue? WNBA refs are paid far less than their NBA counterparts, so no one should be surprised if the men's league attracts more experienced referees. But the refs aren't the ones escalating things even after the flagrant and technical fouls have been called. And NBA refs aren't exactly above reproach. Even if we toss out the aberration of Tim Donaghy, the referee who spent time in prison after a gambling scandal, NBA referees have been the object of many fine-worthy infractions through the years. Anthony Edwards' fines in a single season could pay several WNBA players' salaries. Should WNBA refs do more to protect stars like Clark so that Cunningham won't feel compelled to do it herself? Maybe. But they'd also do well to avoid the absurdity of the 1990s, when the mere act of trying to guard Michael Jordan could draw a whistle. Truth or fiction: Mixed That's not the easiest set of questions, and it's just part of the league's to-do list right now. The WNBA has to manage expansion carefully while also landing a fair collective bargaining agreement to prevent a work stoppage. But these are also happier questions to consider than 'Will the league survive the season?'
Yahoo
17-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Will Abacus Life, Inc. (ABL) Beat Estimates Again in Its Next Earnings Report?
Have you been searching for a stock that might be well-positioned to maintain its earnings-beat streak in its upcoming report? It is worth considering Abacus Life, Inc. (ABL), which belongs to the Zacks Insurance - Life Insurance industry. This company has an established record of topping earnings estimates, especially when looking at the previous two reports. The company boasts an average surprise for the past two quarters of 17.79%. For the most recent quarter, Abacus Life, Inc. was expected to post earnings of $0.18 per share, but it reported $0.16 per share instead, representing a surprise of 12.50%. For the previous quarter, the consensus estimate was $0.13 per share, while it actually produced $0.16 per share, a surprise of 23.08%. Price and EPS Surprise With this earnings history in mind, recent estimates have been moving higher for Abacus Life, Inc.. In fact, the Zacks Earnings ESP (Expected Surprise Prediction) for the company is positive, which is a great sign of an earnings beat, especially when you combine this metric with its nice Zacks Rank. Our research shows that stocks with the combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) or better produce a positive surprise nearly 70% of the time. In other words, if you have 10 stocks with this combination, the number of stocks that beat the consensus estimate could be as high as seven. The Zacks Earnings ESP compares the Most Accurate Estimate to the Zacks Consensus Estimate for the quarter; the Most Accurate Estimate is a version of the Zacks Consensus whose definition is related to change. The idea here is that analysts revising their estimates right before an earnings release have the latest information, which could potentially be more accurate than what they and others contributing to the consensus had predicted earlier. Abacus Life, Inc. currently has an Earnings ESP of +3.03%, which suggests that analysts have recently become bullish on the company's earnings prospects. This positive Earnings ESP when combined with the stock's Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) indicates that another beat is possibly around the corner. We expect the company's next earnings report to be released on August 7, 2025. Investors should note, however, that a negative Earnings ESP reading is not indicative of an earnings miss, but a negative value does reduce the predictive power of this metric. Many companies end up beating the consensus EPS estimate, though this is not the only reason why their shares gain. Additionally, some stocks may remain stable even if they end up missing the consensus estimate. Because of this, it's really important to check a company's Earnings ESP ahead of its quarterly release to increase the odds of success. Make sure to utilize our Earnings ESP Filter to uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they've reported. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Abacus Life, Inc. (ABL) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research ( Zacks Investment Research Sign in to access your portfolio
Axios
17-07-2025
- Sport
- Axios
Remembering the Columbus Quest
Columbus once had a powerhouse women's pro basketball team, but it proved to be ahead of its time. Flashback: The Columbus Quest played in the American Basketball League, which launched in 1996 shortly after the popular U.S. women's team won Olympic gold. The team's logo featured an eagle gripping a basketball within the "Q" of Quest. 🏆 Columbus went 31-9 that first season and won the inaugural championship. League MVP Nikki McCray, Buckeyes great Katie Smith and others earned a trip to the White House. Between the lines: Though the ABL started first and initially offered better pay, the rival WNBA had better attendance and the NBA's financial support. McCray switched leagues, but Columbus still went 36-8 in its second season and won another title over the Long Beach StingRays. Yes, but: The ABL's struggles mounted in its third season. The StingRays disbanded a few months after the finals due to low ticket sales and corporate sponsorships. Their general manager joined Columbus, then abruptly quit — leaving head coach Brian Agler's wife, Robin, to take over the top job. When Agler left midseason to coach a WNBA expansion team, top scorer Tonya Edwards took over as player-coach. Columbus was 11-3 when the league ended on Dec. 22, 1998, and filed for bankruptcy. What they said: An area high school player bemoaned the impact of the team's demise. "I hope to play college basketball at some level," Heath's Nikki Novell said. "Even though I know I'll never play in the pros, [the ABL] lets us know it's there." What they did: Former Quest players turned to substitute teaching, housekeeping and other odd jobs to get by as they sought other playing opportunities. Shanele Stires waited tables at Max & Erma's before joining the WNBA's Minnesota Lynx. Decades later, she's now head coach at Cal Poly. Smith joined her in Minnesota and has had a long playing and coaching career. Columbus still has a "great fanbase" for women's sports, Smith told us in April. The bottom line: Given the recent rise in women's sports popularity, maybe a pro basketball team could make its return locally someday.
Yahoo
14-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Ultimate Finance reports 15% increase in H1 2025 new lending
Ultimate Finance has reported its 'highest ever' half-year origination results, with £126m ($170m) in new business lending, marking a 15% increase from the same period in 2024. The UK-based asset-based lender said it achieved positive outcomes across all business areas. In the first six months, the company's lending book reached £357m. Ultimate Finance CEO Josh Levy said: 'Our performance in the first half of 2025 is a clear demonstration of the success of our business strategy and represents another step towards realising our growth ambitions. Having all three areas of the business – working capital, asset finance, and bridging finance – working in unison is delivering real strategic value. 'We have built strong momentum, and our results reflect the strength of our team, the resilience of our local relationship-based model, and the increasing demand for our tailored finance solutions. 'Looking ahead, we are set to launch further developments in our structured finance product to address growing demand in the ABL space. We remain as committed as ever to delivering tailored funding solutions through our growing network of introducers.' During the period under review, Ultimate Finance increased its maximum invoice finance facility size from £7m to £10m, accommodating larger funding requirements and aligning with recent product improvements. It also made enhancements in bridging finance, including reduced pricing on development exit facilities and a new light-touch refurbishment offering up to an 85% day one loan-to-value ratio. Additionally, more flexibility was introduced in the release of net sales proceeds on multi-unit loans and on personal guarantee terms. Ultimate Finance also expanded its asset finance team, moved into a larger office, and increased its securitisation facility to support growing demand. Last month, the company launched its updated brand identity as part of its growth strategy. "Ultimate Finance reports 15% increase in H1 2025 new lending" was originally created and published by Leasing Life, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site.
