Top Ranked Income Stocks to Buy for November 6th

Bloomberg
China Huarong Showdown Reveals Beijing’s Tougher Stance on Risk
(Bloomberg) -- Market turmoil surrounding China Huarong Asset Management Co. intensified on Wednesday as investors interpreted government silence on the embattled firm as a lack of official support.The Communist Party has yet to comment on the distressed-debt manager, which is controlled by the finance ministry, even as concern about a potential restructuring sent its dollar bonds plunging to distressed levels. China’s State Council, the country’s top administrative body, instead reinforced the idea that struggling state-backed companies shouldn’t rely on government support.In a statement late Tuesday, the State Council urged local government financing vehicles to restructure or enter liquidation if they can’t repay their debts. While it’s unclear if the comments were meant to send a veiled message about China Huarong, they added to the perception that the government is taking a tough stance on reining in risks to the financial system.The resulting turbulence in the offshore debt market is having an impact on fundraising for even blue-chip Chinese firms. Tencent Holdings Ltd., which along with other tech giants has also faced increased government scrutiny in recent months, is holding off marketing a planned dollar bond deal Wednesday to raise as much as $4 billion, according to people familiar with the matter.Meanwhile, the selloff in China Huarong’s bonds is deepening, with the notes set for another day of record lows. The firm’s 4.5% perpetual dollar bond fell 9.7 cents on the dollar to 61.2 cents, Bloomberg-compiled prices show. The company, which has yet to publish its full-year earnings after missing a March 31 deadline, has said it has access to liquidity and is making payments on time.“The lack of information is being taken negatively,” said Paul Lukaszewski, head of corporate debt for Asia Pacific at Aberdeen Standard Investments in Singapore. “Investors are increasingly concerned about the broader implications if Huarong’s offshore bonds are pushed into financial restructuring.”Withdrawing support from weak or badly run companies is becoming an increasing trend in China as President Xi Jinping seeks to restrain growth in debt in the world’s second-largest economy. One consequence is that state-owned enterprises have replaced private firms as the country’s biggest source of defaults.SOEs reneged on a record 79.5 billion yuan ($12.1 billion) of local bonds in 2020, lifting their share of onshore payment failures to 57% from 8.5% a year earlier, according to Fitch Ratings. The figure jumped to 72% in the first quarter of 2021.The dilemma for authorities is how to avoid contagion spilling over into the financial system as investors reprice risk and sell bonds previously considered immune from default because of an implicit state guarantee.An onshore default by a state-linked coal producer in November triggered a brief selloff in the nation’s credit market. Further defaults, including by chipmaker Tsinghua Unigroup Co., also caused short-term market volatility.But failure to successfully tackle rising debt levels could fatally undermine the government’s efforts to build a world-class economy to rival that of the U.S.Local government debt is of particular concern. Hidden debt at local levels was elevated to a “national security” issue at China’s annual legislative meetings last month. Local governments had 14.8 trillion yuan ($2.3 trillion) of hidden debt last year, and the figure could climb further this year, according to a government-linked think tank.Like much of China’s debt issues, the problem with local government financing vehicles, or LGFVs, dates back to 2009 and the central government’s response to the global financial crisis. Barred from borrowing through official channels but facing funding shortfalls to pay for infrastructure stimulus, local governments created off-balance sheet financing vehicles.No LGFV has defaulted on a public bond, and sales in 2020 hit a record 4.4 trillion yuan, but cracks have started to appear. Chongqing Energy Investment Group Co. this year failed to repay 915 million yuan of commercial bills.“It is only a matter of time before an orderly breaking of the implicit guarantee for public-issued bonds, including LGFVs,” said Wu Qiong, executive director at BOC International Holdings Ltd.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2021 Bloomberg L.P.
16h ago
Reuters
World stocks soar to fresh peaks, dollar slips
Major global stock indexes scaled new peaks on Wednesday after upbeat U.S. and European earnings pointed to a strong recovery from the coronavirus pandemic, while the dollar dipped to three-week lows as Treasury yields held below recent highs. High-flying growth stocks declined on Wall Street, sending the benchmark S&P 500 and Nasdaq lower in afternoon trade, while underpriced value stocks rose, lifting the Dow to a new record. U.S. import prices increased more than expected in March, lifted by higher costs for petroleum products and tight supply chains in the latest data to show inflation is heating up as economies reopen.
13h ago
Reuters
Gold falls as firmer bond yields dull appeal
Gold fell on Wednesday as an uptick in U.S. Treasury yields weighed on bullion's appeal, while investors awaited speeches by several Federal Reserve officials in the wake of data showing higher inflation. Spot gold fell 0.3% to $1,739.00 per ounce, as of 10:45 a.m. EDT (1445 GMT). The uptick in bond yields seem to be "adding some very light pressure to the (gold) market," said David Meger, director of metals trading at High Ridge Futures.
20h ago
CoinDesk
Coinbase Direct Listing Gets $100B+ Valuation as Share Price Jumps in Nasdaq Debut
The Coinbase listing is seen as a watershed moment for the cryptocurrency industry.
7h ago
FX Empire
Oil Price Fundamental Daily Forecast – Prices Surge as Crude Inventories Plunge Amid Jump in Refining Activity
U.S. gasoline stocks rose 309,000 barrels in the week to 234.9 million barrels, less than analysts’ expectations for a 786,000-barrel rise.
9h ago
FX Empire
Price of Gold Fundamental Daily Forecast – Use Yields as Your Trading Guide, Not Inflation Expectations
Gold may have risen following the release of the CPI data, but it was not because of concerns over inflation.
12h ago
Bloomberg
India’s Small Merchants Take on Amazon With Protest Meeting
(Bloomberg) -- Hundreds of thousands of small Indian businesses are planning to protest against large foreign retailers like Amazon.com Inc. in an event Thursday that coincides with the U.S. e-commerce giant’s annual seller jamboree in the South Asian nation, a sign of escalating tensions in the retail market of 1.3 billion people.The summit is the latest protest by local traders, which have long accused global retailers Amazon and rival Walmart Inc.-owned Flipkart of masquerading as platforms and employing unfair practices that hit at the livelihoods of small online and offline sellers. The trader groups’ event is named Asmbhav, or “impossible” in Hindi, and takes place on the first day of Amazon’s annual seller extravaganza, called Smbhav, or “possible.”“Over half-a-million sellers and leading small trader groups are participating in the Asmbhav event which will focus on ruined livelihoods because of the bullying and partisanship by e-commerce marketplaces,” said Abhay Raj Mishra of the non-profit Public Response Against Helplessness and Action for Redressal (PRAHAR), one of the organizers of the event spearheaded by a collective of Indian sellers.India’s small traders, distributors and merchants have petitioned the country’s courts and antitrust regulator to curb the foreign retailing giants ahead of a potential revision of foreign investment rules. The government is expected to tighten regulations that already bar e-commerce platforms from owning or controlling companies that sell on their platform, forging exclusive deals with makers of products such as smartphones, and discounting goods sold on their platforms.Amazon’s seller event -- which made its debut last year with founder Jeff Bezos in attendance -- will span four days this year and be held virtually. Key business figures including former Pepsico Inc. Chief Executive Officer Indra Nooyi, telecom operator Bharti Airtel Ltd.’s Chairman Sunil Mittal, India’s chief economic adviser Krishnamurthy Subramanian and Infosys Ltd. co-founder and Chairman Nandan Nilekani will be among panel speakers. Participants will include small businesses, startups, developers and retailers.To counter Amazon’s Smbhav awards to select sellers, organizers of the protest event will hand out tongue-in-cheek “Asmbhav awards” to Bezos, country chief Amit Agarwal and its India business partner, Narayana Murthy, the billionaire co-founder of Infosys. The event is backed by trade groups like the All India Online Vendors Association and the All-India Mobile Retailers Association.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2021 Bloomberg L.P.
14h ago
Bloomberg
A $12.5 Billion Deal Shows Saudi Oil Still Eclipses All Else
(Bloomberg) -- Saudi Arabia is celebrating one of the biggest foreign-investment windfalls in its history after netting more than $12 billion by selling off a stake in the oil pipelines that traverse the desert kingdom.But the country may also be facing an uncomfortable reality as a result. As carefully cultivated relationships with firms such as BlackRock Inc. and SoftBank Group Corp. have yet to draw in the desired investment, it’s turning to the jewels of its energy industry to attract new money.Last week’s sale of the stake to EIG Global Energy Partners LLC shows how reliant Saudi Arabia is on its traditional mainstay and the challenges Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman faces in diversifying the country away from oil and gas to achieve his Vision 2030 goal. The likes of BlackRock and SoftBank haven’t invested back into the country as much as the government might have hoped, while foreigners favor revenue-rich energy assets over tourism and entertainment.“Entertainment and tourism might have had a better year of foreign direct investment in 2020 if Covid had not happened,” Karen Young, resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington, said via e-mail. “But all the same, the core investors who see value in Saudi will be interested in the largest and most profitable sector, and that is still very much oil and energy.”Though EIG, the Washington-based private equity firm led by Chief Executive Blair Thomas, is a prominent investor in North America and Europe, it barely resonates in Saudi circles. It hasn’t made a single equity purchase in the Middle East until now, let alone the kingdom itself, and its management team has never showed at Saudi Arabia’s marquee “Davos in the Desert” conference, an event attended routinely by investment leaders from The Blackstone Group Inc.’s Stephen Schwarzman to Ray Dalio of BridgeWater Associates LP and the Carlyle Group’s David Rubenstein.Saudi Arabia attracted $5.5 billion in net FDI flows in 2020, equivalent to about 1% of its economic output, according to data compiled by Bloomberg, which means the EIG deal brings more than twice last year’s total. The government’s goal is 5.7% by 2030, hence the temptation to offer up prized energy assets such as parts of Saudi Aramco, the state-owned energy giant.“This is the latest milestone in an ongoing shift,” said Jim Krane, a fellow at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy in Houston. “Mohammed bin Salman and his advisers keep finding novel ways to coax cash out of Aramco without disrupting its operational capability. Right now it’s cash that the kingdom needs and Aramco controls the spigot.”EIG beat out rivals including Apollo Global Management Inc. and Brookfield Asset Management Inc. to buy the stake. It’s now putting together a consortium of other investors to join the deal.While several global investors have forged closer ties with Saudi Arabia in recent years, most of them see it more as a source of capital than an investment destination. The kingdom’s flagship Public Investment Fund, or PIF, is the largest investor in Softbank’s $100 billion technology vehicle, with an allocation of $45 billion. The PIF has also pledged as much as $20 billion to help Blackstone Group LP build the world’s largest infrastructure fund.The reasons are manifold, ranging from the inconsistency of the Saudi legal system to an economic slump as the country adjusts to lower oil prices. The 2017 arrest and incarceration of scores of Saudi businessmen at Riyadh’s Ritz Carlton hotel and the murder of dissident writer Jamal Khashoggi the following year have hardly helped.FDI into Saudi Arabia peaked between 2008 and 2012, averaging more than $26 billion. During those years, it was mostly driven by large refinery and petrochemical projects developed with foreign partners including Total SE and Sumitomo Chemical Co. at a time when oil averaged over $90 a barrel. The subsequent slide in oil has seen average FDI into Saudi drop to about $6 billion a year.“Despite the measures to liberalize and open the economy for investment into new industries, FDI has not come in the way originally planned,” said Monica Malik, chief economist at Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank.FDI may be set to pick up further this year. The kingdom signed agreements with developers including Electricite de France SA and Marubeni Corp. to build solar power plants last week, and later this year it is likely to complete the sale of the world’s largest desalination plant. In 2020, FDI rose 20%, in part driven by deals with Alphabet Inc. and Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. to develop cloud-computing hubs that Saudi Arabia said were worth a combined $1.5 billion.In selling assets of its main state-owned energy explorer, Saudi Arabia is following a model successfully implemented by neighboring Abu Dhabi. Instead of pursuing an initial public offering of its state-owned energy firm Adnoc, the emirate has raised more than $20 billion in recent years by bringing international investors into some of its key assets. EIG studied some of the Adnoc assets that were on offer but couldn’t reach an agreement. Hence, it didn’t want to lose out on the Aramco transaction, a person familiar with the matter said.Saudi Aramco is encouraged by the valuation and the interest generated for the pipelines deal, meaning the oil giant may pursue more disposals in the coming years, people familiar with the matter said. It has already entrusted boutique investment bank Moelis & Co with formulating a strategy for selling stakes in some subsidiaries, people familiar with the matter said in December.“It’s a great deal for Aramco, but also a new kind of investment strategy, in that it is “giving up” much more in terms of investor access to information, control over operations than an IPO does,” said Young of the American Enterprise Institute. “It is a real partnership, a long-term effort with outsiders, which is an entirely new level of trust outside of the firm and the government.”Founded in 1982, EIG has committed more than $34 billion to the energy sector, according to its website. Its portfolio includes holdings in Spanish solar developer Abengoa SA, Houston-based Cheniere Energy Inc., natural-gas producer Chesapeake Energy Corp. and storage and pipeline operator Kinder Morgan Inc.(Adds details on previous Saudi refinery investments in 11th paragraph.)For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2021 Bloomberg L.P.
9h ago
Quartz
Grab’s record breaking SPAC merger left more than $2 billion on the table
Grab’s record-breaking deal to merge with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) will raise an eye-popping $4.5 billion in cash. A quick recap: Singapore-based Grab is poised to have a market value of around $39.6 billion after it combines with a SPAC called Altimeter Growth. Altimeter is basically a $500 million pot of money listed on Nasdaq that was looking for a target to merge with (which is why SPACS are sometimes called “blank check” companies).
8h ago
Reuters
Analysis: Hot or cold war? Investors try to second guess Russia's military manoeuvres
Fund managers are trimming exposure to Russia and Ukraine on fears that years of tensions could finally erupt into outright war, bringing economic ruin for Ukraine and more sanctions on Russia. "People are very sanguine," said Tim Ash, senior EM sovereign strategist at BlueBay Asset Management. Concerns about an escalation, including the immediate threat of sanctions, were partly assuaged after a phone call on Tuesday between U.S. President Joe Biden and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in which Biden proposed a summit meeting between the pair and stressed U.S. commitment to Ukraine's territorial integrity.
9h ago
Bloomberg
Bank of England’s Biggest Inflation Hawk Will Step Down
(Bloomberg) -- The Bank of England’s Chief Economist Andy Haldane will step down in June, removing the the Monetary Policy Committee’s most outspoken contrarian and inflation hawk.Haldane, 53, will leave after career spanning more than three decades at the central bank to become chief executive officer at the Royal Society for Arts, Manufactures and Commerce starting in September. He will remain in place through the bank’s rate decision on June 24. He’s departing as the U.K. emerges from its worst recession in three centuries, which pushed the central bank to unleash unprecedented stimulus including 150 billion pounds ($206 billion) of bond purchases this year. Haldane alone on the nine-member policy panel voiced concerns about inflation accelerating with a rapid bounce-back in growth as Prime Minister Boris Johnson winds back restrictions to contain the Covid-19.“The most interesting element to me is that he is probably the arch-hawk on the MPC, and his removal will certainly see a more dovish tone seep into meetings,” said Stuart Cole, chief macro strategist at Equiti Capital and a former BOE economist.Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey will appoint a successor after the bank advertises the position. While the chief economist traditionally also sits on the MPC, it’s the Treasury’s decision to name members to that panel.In recent months, Haldane has warned about the risk of excessive pessimism about the economic outlook as the pandemic winds down, terming it “Chicken Licken” economics that could undermine the recovery.While many of his colleagues point out concerns about rising unemployment and signs of sluggishness in the economy, he said he expects a “rip-roaring recovery” and on inflation said a “tiger has been stirred” that may “prove difficult to tame.”Several economists said the improving outlook for the U.K. economy has already shifted debate on the MPC away from extra stimulus and toward whether the pace of bond purchases need to slow -- or even an eventual tightening in policy.“In 2022 the BOE is likely to set out an exit strategy from its ultra-easy policy stance before hiking the bank rate in 2023,” said Kallum Pickering, senior economist at Berenberg.Haldane joined the BOE in 1989 after gaining a masters in economics from Warwick University.He logged experience at the central bank in international finance, market infrastructure and financial stability during the financial crisis before clinching his current role under previous Governor Mark Carney in 2014. That year, “Time” magazine named him one of the world’s 100 most influential people.Haldane is known for his occasionally quirky speeches. He once used Dr. Seuss to bemoan the reading age needed to understand the central bank’s communications.His words sometimes raised eyebrows, notably when he compared pre-crisis economic projections to a famously inaccurate forecast by BBC weatherman Michael Fish before a 1987 storm that killed 18 people.In 2012, he drew the ire of his future boss with a speech -- titled “The Dog and the Frisbee” -- which called for simplicity in banking regulation. Carney, who was then the Bank of Canada governor and head of the global Financial Stability Board, said the speech was “uneven” and the conclusion “not supported by the proper understanding of the facts.”Haldane has also led the government’s Industrial Strategy Council until it was dissolved a few weeks ago and is the co-founder of charity Pro-Bono Economics.“If your business is trying to predict rates and quantitative easing, it will be a bit easier without Andy’s speeches somewhat clouding the issue,” said Tony Yates, a former BOE official who worked with Haldane. “If you’re trying to get up to speed on the latest things in monetary economics and finance, then it’s less good because there won’t be Andy picking up new things and explaining them.”(Updates with context and comment from the first paragraph.)For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2021 Bloomberg L.P.
1d ago
Bloomberg
U.K. Finance Regulators Seek ‘Ambitious’ Access to U.S. Markets
(Bloomberg) -- Britain’s financial markets watchdog is looking to upgrade its relationship with the U.S. and give U.K. firms permanent access to American securities and derivatives markets in the wake of Brexit.The Financial Conduct Authority is working closely with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission about a “permanent footing” for U.K. trading venues to operate in the U.S., Nausicaa Delfas, the FCA’s executive director of international, said at a conference on Tuesday.“If granted, this recognition will provide U.K. firms with the certainty they need to conduct their business in the U.S. with confidence,” Delfas said at the City & Financial Global virtual event.The FCA is also in discussions with the Securities and Exchange Commission over access to the U.S. for swap dealers, and the regulator is supporting the U.K. government’s negotiations with the U.S. on a wider trade agreement. These efforts build on agreements made before Brexit came into effect at the start of the year, which pledged to minimize disruption in transatlantic financial markets.“There is much still to be agreed, but we are supportive of an ambitious outcome on financial services that benefits both U.K. and U.S. industries whilst preserving our regulatory objectives and safeguards,” Delfas said.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2021 Bloomberg L.P.
2d ago
Bloomberg
Insatiable Stock Bulls Demand More of Rally Running on Euphoria
(Bloomberg) -- It’s just a quarter of the way through 2021 and stocks have already leaped past Wall Street’s year-end forecasts. They’ve jumped 10% and priced in so much optimism that it will take two more years for earnings to catch up.Is that enough for bulls? Nope. In a market that has plowed through records once every five days, the only things expanding faster than valuations are investor expectations. At Citigroup, an indicator that compares levels of panic to euphoria in the market has been pinned on elation all year, while a Bank of America model weighing optimism among sell-side analysts sits at a 10-year high.To be sure, animal spirits have calmed at the market’s loopiest edge, with penny-stock volume down and the meme craze receding. But robust appetite persists in its tamer -- and still speculative -- districts. And while fortunes would have been sacrificed repeatedly by anyone expecting this rally to overheat, the juxtaposition of stretched sentiment and a still-healing economy is a source of growing anxiety for professionals.“It is strange to see these sentiment measures elevated at the same time the economy is still recovering,” said George Mateyo, chief investment officer at Key Private Bank. “We’ve had a shot in the arm with respect to fiscal and monetary stimulus” and its impact on the economy “is likely to continue for a while longer, but at some point it’d fade.”Not that there aren’t a lot of reasons to stay optimistic, with many data points coming in stronger than expected, vaccine rollouts (mostly) continuing and earnings expected to buttress the bull case. Taking any single sentiment indicator at face value and relying on it as a sell signal could have meant missing out on one of the largest year-over-year rallies ever recorded.Sentiment readings “are hovering at extremely high levels and we could have been worried about them three months ago -- we could have been worried about them one month ago,” Lori Calvasina, head of U.S. equity strategy at RBC Capital Markets, told Bloomberg TV. “They are telling us that the gains are going to be harder to come by, that if we do get negative catalysts, we are vulnerable to the downside. But I think it’s hard to view any of this data as an automatic sell signal right now.”Doubters point to everything from potential Fed tapering and tax hikes to the potential for fatigue among retail investors. A look under the surface already shows a shift in leadership that’s tilting toward companies whose growth is seen as more resilient during an economic slowdown. The frenetic buying of cyclical shares like energy and banks has cooled during the past month. Vaulting back to the top of the leader board are defensive stocks like technology, real estate and utilities.Bank of America’s “sell side indicator,” which aggregates the average recommended equity allocation by strategists, has risen for a third month to a 10-year high. But the cyclical rebound, vaccines and stimulus are all largely priced in already, wrote strategists led by Savita Subramanian. Meanwhile, a record amount of equity funds is being absorbed: Inflows to stocks over the past five months, at $576 billion, exceed inflows from the prior 12 years, according to the bank.Citigroup’s panic/euphoria model, which tracks metrics from options trading to short sales and fund flows, has remained in “euphoric” territory for much of this year, “generating a 100% historical probability of down markets in the next 12 months at current levels,” according to the bank’s chief U.S. equity strategist Tobias Levkovich.Options traders are placing bets the calm won’t last. The middle part of the VIX curve shows many are expecting volatility to pick up, with the spread between the VIX -- the market’s fear gauge -- and futures on implied 30-day volatility four months from now near the highest level in about five years. One trader last week wagered that the fear gauge will rise toward 40, and won’t be lower than 25, in July. The trader appears to have bought a total of about 200,000 call contracts, an amount almost as big as the total daily volume of VIX calls, based on the 20-day average.“Sentiment -- it’s not usually enough on its own to tip a bull market over, but it does mean that if there is something that causes the broad market to flinch, it can sell off quicker and harder,” said Ross Mayfield, investment strategy analyst at Baird. “When sentiment is running this hot, you’re hitting a new all-time high every day, at some point there will be a correction. Paying up for protection, if you have short-term money, makes plenty of sense.”Going all-in on equities for fear of missing out -- while staying protected against any downturn -- is the preferred posture of hedge funds. Lured by an almost uninterrupted rally since November, the industry has boosted their net exposure to equities to multi-year highs. Meanwhile, they’ve stepped up hedging through macro products such as index futures and exchange-traded funds. Their short sales on ETFs, for instance, increased 11% this year through March 26, according to data from Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s prime brokerage unit.The hedged-long approach has gained traction on Wall Street. On Friday, JPMorgan Chase & Co. strategists led by Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou recommended investors hold on to risky assets such as stocks but add hedges through options in credit and stocks. One looming risk for the market is a continuing retreat from retail investors, a steadfast driver behind the yearlong bull market, they said.“We don’t believe that the equity bull market is yet exhausted,” the strategists wrote in the note. But “there is clear evidence of elevated equity positioning by retail investors and thus a vulnerability for the equity market going forward,” they said.Gene Goldman, chief investment officer at Cetera Financial Group, says his firm is looking for ways to de-risk its portfolios. “People are seeing the recovery, they’re seeing good things happening today, which is great, but it’s a classic case of ‘buy the rumor, sell the news’ and what they should be doing is looking six-to-nine months from now,” he said. “There are many headwinds that are going to hit the market.”For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2021 Bloomberg L.P.
1d ago
Reuters
Newsmaker: Coinbase boss Armstrong poised to reap fruits of listing
As Coinbase Global Inc's multi-billion dollar stock market listing accelerates cryptocurrency's leap to the top table of finance, its founder and CEO Brian Armstrong is poised to reap the benefits of the company's nine-year journey. Armstrong owns 21.7% of the San Francisco-based cryptocurrency exchange, filings show - a stake worth around $20 billion given Coinbase's projected value. Such a paper fortune might have been hard to imagine when Armstrong founded Coinbase in 2012, just four years after bitcoin was invented by the pseudonymous Satoshi Nakamoto.
9h ago
Bloomberg
GameStop Rises as Zero-Debt Plan Boosts Bets on Turnaround
(Bloomberg) -- GameStop Corp. climbed Wednesday after it took a step to retire nearly all its existing debt as part of its transformation from a brick-and-mortar retailer into an e-commerce marketplace.The stock rallied 18% to $166.53, snapping a seven-day slide, for its biggest jump in 2 1/2 weeks. The video-game retailer said late on Tuesday it’s redeeming $216.4 million of senior notes, following a move to retire $73.2 million in debt last month.More than 21 million shares changed hands Wednesday, double what had been seen over the past two weeks. While trading volume has slowed from the eye-popping activity over recent weeks, Gamestop shares are still up nearly 800% this year, bringing the company’s valuation to almost $12 billion.The video-game retailer is in the midst of a turnaround, spearheaded by activist investor Ryan Cohen, shifting from a brick-and-mortar company and into an e-commerce marketplace able to compete with the likes of Amazon.com Inc..Earlier this month, the company announced plans to offer as much as $1 billion in additional shares. The extra cash cushioning, combined with fewer debt obligations may contribute to more favorable terms for the company in dealings with suppliers and partners.“Debt retirement is what they should have focused on in the first place,” Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter said in an email. “That puts them in a very secure financial position.”Read more: GameStop’s Other Trade Pays Off With Takeout of Junk Bonds (1)Volume Pick-UpBullish options on the video-game retailer were more heavily traded in Wednesday’s session than recent weeks. The increase in small-lot calls could signal a return of the same group of investors who were behind January’s epic short squeeze, according to Susquehanna derivatives strategist Chris Murphy.GameStop’s rally stood out from peers that have captivated retail investors as meme stocks were mixed Wednesday. While movie-theater operator AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. climbed, cannabis stock Sundial Growers Inc. and Palantir Technologies Inc. dipped.GameStop has been hit by the video-game industry’s shift to online distribution. The company reported disappointing fourth-quarter earnings last month.(Updates share movement and adds details on options trading in seventh paragraph.)For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2021 Bloomberg L.P.
4h ago
Bloomberg
Jack Ma’s Fortune Jumps $2 Billion After Record Alibaba Fine
(Bloomberg) -- China just slapped a record antitrust fine on Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. The company thanked the government and investors breathed a sigh of relief.Alibaba’s American depositary receipts climbed 9.3% on Monday in New York, their biggest jump in almost four years. For Jack Ma, the founder of the e-commerce giant, it meant his fortune increased by $2.3 billion to $52.1 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.The $2.8 billion fine is less severe than some investors feared and is based on only 4% of the company’s 2019 domestic sales, far less than the maximum 10% allowed under Chinese law. While the internet giant will have to adjust the way it does business, its vice chairman said regulators won’t impose a radical overhaul of its e-commerce strategy and its chief executive officer declared Alibaba ready to move on.“Alibaba would not have achieved our growth without sound government regulation and service, and the critical oversight, tolerance and support from all of our constituencies have been crucial to our development,” the company said in an open letter. “For this, we are full of gratitude and respect.”Ma, who up until last year was China’s richest person, has lost billions since his nation’s regulators began an anti-monopolistic campaign, halting the initial public offering of his Ant Group Co. payments company just two days before it was scheduled to go public. He is now China’s third-richest person after Zhong Shanshan of bottled-water company Nongfu Spring Co. and Tencent Holdings Ltd.’s Pony Ma.Separately, China’s central bank ordered Ant to become a financial-holding company that will be regulated more like a bank. The move, announced on Monday, will have far-reaching implications for the firm’s growth and its ability to press ahead with an initial public offering. Alibaba shares opened 3.4% higher in Hong Kong on Tuesday.(Updates to include Ant overhaul and stock move in last paragraph)For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2021 Bloomberg L.P.
2d ago
Reuters
China's revamp of Ant dents investor appetite for IPO revival
BOSTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) -China's regulatory-imposed revamp of Jack Ma's Ant Group, transforming the hot fintech into a financial holding company, appears to have dented some investor appetite for any plans to revive what would have been the world's biggest IPO. The overhaul comes two days after affiliate Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, which owns around a one-third stake in Ant, was hit with a record $2.75 billion antitrust penalty as China tightens controls on its internet giants. Several Hong Kong and U.S.-based investors, and others who watch China's markets, said the developments seemed to limit the prospects of Ant, lowering its expected profitability and valuation.
2d ago
MarketWatch
Millions might get a refund with the $10,200 unemployment tax break — but filing an amended return could unlock even more money
Before sitting back and letting the IRS do the work, experts say some people should at least consider filing an amended return.
5h ago
MarketWatch
Coinbase listing has fueled ‘a lot of frenzy’ and ‘that never ends well,’ bitcoin bull Novogratz tells MarketWatch
Wealthy investor Mike Novogratz speculates that bitcoin could be worth $100,000 by the end of 2021 and sees that value increasing by five-fold by 2024, as the nascent crypto market continues to evolve and grow.
1h ago
Bloomberg
Two Extended Stay Directors Opposed Blackstone-Starwood Deal
(Bloomberg) -- It turns out it’s not just some of Extended Stay America Inc.’s top shareholders who oppose its proposed $6 billion takeover. Two of the company’s own directors are against it as well.Extended Stay disclosed in a regulatory filing late Tuesday that while the majority of the board approved the deal with Blackstone Group Inc. and Starwood Capital Group, Neil Brown and Simon Turner opposed it, saying the $19.50-a-share price was insufficient, and below similar transactions in recent years.They were also concerned about the timing of the deal in light of a recent rebound in hotel stocks, and the potential for further recovery with the U.S. stimulus plan and increasing Covid-19 vaccinations, the filing shows.Turner was of the belief a transaction below $20 a share was inappropriate, and also was concerned about changes to the termination fee that were made in order for the buyers to raise their bid to $19.50 a share from $19.25, according to the filing.Extended Stay has two boards, one for the C-Corp and one for the real estate investment trust. Both Brown and Turner sit on the REIT board, according to the company’s website.The concerns raised by the two directors are similar to those of five top investors who came out against the deal. Tarsadia Capital LLC, Hawk Ridge Capital Management, SouthernSun Asset Management LLC, Cooke & Bieler LP and River Road Asset Management LLC have all said they plan to vote against the transaction.‘Obviously Inadequate’“We are dismayed that the board would approve such an obviously inadequate price and shocked that the board did so over the objection of two of its own members,” Tarsadia said in an emailed statement.Collectively, the investors own roughly 13% of Extended Stay’s outstanding common stock, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.Representatives for the other opposing investors weren’t immediately available for comment. A representative for Blackstone and Starwood declined to comment.Extended Stay defended its decision to sell, arguing the deal would provide immediate, certain and compelling value for shareholders.“The company ran a thorough, rigorous and thoughtful process, which included a careful consideration of the alternatives available,” a spokesperson said in an email Tuesday. “I would note that the company has thoughtful and independent board members, and paid careful attention to the points raised by the two dissenting directors. However, after detailed discussions, the boards ultimately concluded that the immediate cash certainty at a premium to the valuation over multiple time periods was in the best interest of shareholders.”‘Lose-Lose-Lose’Michael Bellisario, an analyst with Robert W. Baird & Co., said in a note to clients it was “intriguing” that two board members oppose the transaction, and that shareholders seeking a sweetener are likely to focus on this. But he said a voted-down deal would be a “lose-lose-lose” for investors because the company would likely trade back to $16 a share.Extended Stay shares have traded above the offer price since March 22. They were up 0.4% to $19.80 at 12:36 p.m. in New York Tuesday, giving the company a market value of $3.5 billion.Blackstone and Starwood agreed last month to acquire Extended Stay in a 50-50 joint venture in what would be the biggest deal in the hotel industry since Covid-19 decimated the travel business. The filing Tuesday shows that talks between the parties were on and off since 2017, and that at least two other undisclosed potential buyers had expressed interest over the years.Investor Tarsadia had also discussed numerous investment ideas with Extended Stay beginning in August 2020, including various transactions the company could pursue, the documents show.(Updates share price in paragraph 13, adds additional details in final paragraph.)For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2021 Bloomberg L.P.
8h ago

S&P Futures

Dow Futures

Nasdaq Futures

Russell 2000 Futures

Crude Oil

Gold

Silver

EUR/USD

10-Yr Bond

Vix

GBP/USD

USD/JPY

BTC-USD

CMC Crypto 200

FTSE 100

Nikkei 225

Top Ranked Income Stocks to Buy for November 6th

Recommended Stories

China Huarong Showdown Reveals Beijing’s Tougher Stance on Risk

World stocks soar to fresh peaks, dollar slips

Gold falls as firmer bond yields dull appeal

Coinbase Direct Listing Gets $100B+ Valuation as Share Price Jumps in Nasdaq Debut

Oil Price Fundamental Daily Forecast – Prices Surge as Crude Inventories Plunge Amid Jump in Refining Activity

Price of Gold Fundamental Daily Forecast – Use Yields as Your Trading Guide, Not Inflation Expectations

India’s Small Merchants Take on Amazon With Protest Meeting

A $12.5 Billion Deal Shows Saudi Oil Still Eclipses All Else

Grab’s record breaking SPAC merger left more than $2 billion on the table

Analysis: Hot or cold war? Investors try to second guess Russia's military manoeuvres

Bank of England’s Biggest Inflation Hawk Will Step Down

U.K. Finance Regulators Seek ‘Ambitious’ Access to U.S. Markets

Insatiable Stock Bulls Demand More of Rally Running on Euphoria

Newsmaker: Coinbase boss Armstrong poised to reap fruits of listing

GameStop Rises as Zero-Debt Plan Boosts Bets on Turnaround

Jack Ma’s Fortune Jumps $2 Billion After Record Alibaba Fine

China's revamp of Ant dents investor appetite for IPO revival

Millions might get a refund with the $10,200 unemployment tax break — but filing an amended return could unlock even more money

Coinbase listing has fueled ‘a lot of frenzy’ and ‘that never ends well,’ bitcoin bull Novogratz tells MarketWatch

Two Extended Stay Directors Opposed Blackstone-Starwood Deal