What You Need To Know This Week — August 3rd, 2019
PRESIDENT TRUMP ESCALATES U.S.-CHINA TRADE WAR WITH NEW TARIFFS
U.S. President Trump announced on Twitter that the U.S. would place a 10% tariff on an additional $300 billion of Chinese goods, further escalating the prolonged trade war between the nations. The announcement hit equity markets, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropping 550 points on the news.
FEDERAL RESERVE CUTS RATES BY 0.25%
The U.S. Federal Reserve cut interest rates for the first time since 2008. The central bank cut its benchmark overnight lending rate by 0.25%, as expected by the market. The Fed stated the rate cut was driven by global developments for the economic outlook along with muted inflation pressures.
BEYOND MEAT INSIDERS CASH OUT OF STOCK IN DROVES
Insiders at alternative meat company Beyond Meat sold nearly $500 million worth of stock at $160 per share, representing an -18.6% discount to its closing price. The share sale came amidst a nearly 10-fold increase in the share price since its recent IPO.
LONDON STOCK EXCHANGE STRIKES DEAL TO ACQUIRE REFINITIV
The London Stock Exchange announced an agreement to acquire financial data provider Refinitivin a $27 billion deal. The acquisition will expand LSE’s trading business beyond just shares and derivatives and into currencies. It will also make the combined company into a stronger rival for Bloomberg, the dominant distributor of financial market data. LSE’s stock was up over 20% on the news.
Recommended Articles, Podcasts, Books and Tweets
Listen to personal finance author David Bach (whose books include “The Automatic Millionaire” and “The Latte Factor”) on the James Altucher Show talk about values-based investing and what you need to retire.
The Ontario Securities Commission has opened a formal investigation into cannabis firm CannTrust. The company is already being investigated by Health Canada for growing cannabis in unlicensed rooms.
Hudson’s Bay Co.’s committee of independent directors has deemed Chairman Richard Baker’s insider $9.45 offer as “inadequate”.
U.S. economy added 164,000 new jobs in July while the unemployment rate remained at 3.7%.
Forbes: U.S. stocks are overvalued. But by how much?
UBS will now charge its clients 0.75% on cash balances above $2mm.
Shopify stock rallied to a new all-time high after its quarterly results beat expectations and the company boosted its guidance.
SNC-Lavalin reported a $2.1 billion quarterly loss and cut its dividend by -80%.
A small energy hedge fund shut down after losing -85% of its investors capital, blaming “bad stock picking” (specifically owning Canadian junior energy stocks).
Research shows that a leveraged buyout increases a company’s risk of defaulting on its debt by 10x.
-The Accelerate Team
