Year: 2020

The regulations suggest increasing unease in Beijing with the growing influence of digital platforms. …read more […]

(Bloomberg) — Chinese technology giants from Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. to Tencent Holdings Ltd shed almost $260 billion of market value over two days of frantic selling, as investors scrambled to assess the fallout from Beijing’s broadest attempt to rein in its most powerful private-sector firms.Technology shares tumbled for a second day after Beijing issued regulations designed to curb the growing influence of internet-sector leaders including JD.com Inc., Meituan and Xiaomi Corp. The Hang Seng Tech Index slumped 5.6% on Wednesday in Hong Kong, taking its two-day loss to 10% as of midday. Shares in the quintet of firms have …read more […]

(Bloomberg) — Barely 48 hours after President-elect Joe Biden pledged to “make America respected around the world again,” the European Union was among the first in line to remind him that trans-Atlantic trade relations might be a good place to start.Brussels on Monday agreed to put new tariffs on $4 billion worth of U.S. imports, a move taken with the blessing of the World Trade Organization after the EU won a case in Geneva against illegal subsidies to Boeing Co. It was a counter-punch after the U.S., in a parallel filing against Airbus SE, was allowed to impose tariffs on …read more […]

(Bloomberg) — Chinese technology shares tumbled for a second day after Beijing clamped down on the internet industry, wiping out more than $200 billion of value.The Hang Seng Tech Index slumped 5.3% on Wednesday in Hong Kong, taking its two-day loss to almost 10%. Shares of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., Tencent Holdings Ltd., JD.com Inc., Meituan and Xiaomi Corp. sank at least 8% over two days after the Communist Party unveiled regulations to root out monopolistic practices in the internet industry.Tech is the latest sector to be targeted by Beijing after new curbs on financial firms that triggered the shock …read more […]

(Bloomberg) — Xi Jinping’s Communist Party stepped up efforts to rein in some of China’s most powerful companies, jolting investors and dealing a blow to the country’s richest entrepreneurs.Beijing on Tuesday unveiled regulations to root out monopolistic practices in the internet industry, seeking to curtail the growing influence of corporations like Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and Tencent Holdings Ltd. The rules, which sent both stocks tumbling over two frenetic days and sparked a wider selloff in Chinese equities, landed about a week after new restrictions on the finance sector triggered the shock suspension of Ant Group Co.’s $35 billion initial …read more […]

(Bloomberg) — Oil extended gains toward $42 a barrel in New York after an industry reported pointed to a bigger-than-expected decline in U.S. crude stockpiles, adding to bullish momentum after a vaccine breakthrough.The American Petroleum Institute reported crude inventories dropped by 5.15 million barrels last week, with gasoline and diesel stockpiles also decreasing, according to people familiar with the data. Official government figures are due Thursday. While early findings on a vaccine showed it protected most people from Covid-19, it’s likely to take some time to roll out if it proves effective.Oil has rallied more than 11% over the past …read more […]

With Joe Biden the President-elect, the commonly held view is that alternative energy stocks are in line for a boost. That said, some in the sector hardly need a helping hand, in particular Plug Power (PLUG). The hydrogen fuel cell maker has made the most from investors’ thirst for new energy stocks in 2020, in the process racking up a massive 533% of share gains throughout the year.Further adding to the bullish case, the company just released another excellent quarterly financial report.In Q3, revenue hit $106.99 million amounting to a 79.9% year-over-year increase and beating the estimates by $1.23 million. …read more […]

As markets rally on Pfizer’s announcement, rates rise — but deals are still out there. …read more […]

Often, the greatest stock market wins come from bold contrarian calls…
And one of my favorite professional investors – Murray Stahl of Horizon Kinetics Asset Management – just made a really big contrarian call.
Stahl is pounding the table on the oil and gas sector.
He just called it “one of the few ‘once-in-a-lifetime’ investment opportunities that one can be fortunate enough to actually come across in a lifetime.”
Being bullish on oil and gas is not a mainstream view…
Far from it. Investors have been dumping shares of oil and gas companies for years.
Since the price of oil last peaked in June 2014, the …read more […]

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Recent results about effectiveness of shot encouraging, but many questions remain …read more […]

(Bloomberg) — Verizon Communications Inc. sold $12 billion of bonds in the fifth largest transaction of the year as blue-chip companies rushed to squeeze in debt sales following optimistic news Monday regarding a potential Covid-19 vaccine.The telecommunications giant sold the debt in five parts, with proceeds earmarked for spectrum costs and repayment of outstanding obligations, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. The longest portion of the offering, a $2 billion 40-year security, yields 1.3 percentage points above Treasuries, after initial discussions of around 1.5 percentage points, said the person, who asked not to be identified as the …read more […]

Lyft (LYFT) co-founder and President John Zimmer says his ride-sharing business is fighting like hell to overcome the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on human mobility. …read more […]

Alibaba’s Singles’ is the biggest online shopping event in the world. Here’s how it stacks up against Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and Amazon Prime Day. …read more […]

President Trump’s former chief of staff said “allegations are not enough” when it comes to election fraud, and that time is running out for the campaign’s lawyers to show evidence. …read more […]