What You Need To Know This Week — October 12th, 2019
What You Need To Know This Week
A weekly recap to keep you informed on the most important events this week impacting markets, business, tech and the global economy.
HONG KONG STOCK EXCHANGE DROPS ITS BID FOR LONDON STOCK EXCHANGE
Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing abruptly abandoned its US$36.4 billion unsolicited takeover of the London Stock Exchange. The takeover bid attracted push-back from LSE shareholders, its board of directors and regulators alike. LSE shares dropped as much as -6.5% on the news while HKEX shares gained 2.3%.
GREECE SELLS BONDS AT A NEGATIVE YIELD
Greece, the country that defaulted on its debt in 2015, sold debt at a negative yield for the first time. The Greek government issued EUR487.5 million of three-month debt at a yield of -0.02%. The nation emerged from an eight-year international bailout program just last year.
BROOKFIELD SELLS NORTH AMERICAN PALLADIUM TO SOUTH AFRICAN FIRM IN UNUSUAL DEAL
Brookfield Business Partners struck a friendly deal to sell its controlling stake in North American Palladium to South Africa’s Impala Platinum Holdings in a $1 billion deal. The deal was unique such that North American Palladium minority investors will receive $19.74 per share, while Brookfield will receive only $16 per share for its 81% stake, representing a 19% discount.
QE4? THE FED RESTARTS ASSET PURCHASES IN BID TO PLACATE MONEY MARKETS
Federal Reserve Chair Jay Powell said that the central bank will resume its bond buying program for reserve management purposes. Powell stressed to the market that the balance sheet expansion did not represent another quantitative easing package, but the market was skeptical.
Recommended Articles, Podcasts, Books and Tweets
Listen to Basecamp CEO Jason Fried discuss all aspects of work-life balance and what it really means to “work hard” on Peter Attia’s podcast The Drive.
Postmates delays IPO as Wall Street turns against Silicon Valley.
Why equity investors still lose with zero commissions (hint: it’s because of high-frequency traders).
Discount brokerage price war has an unintended casualty: pay-to-play agreements with the major ETF providers.
Employment at a private equity-owned company falls -13% within two years of a leveraged buyout.
Barclays offered two exchange-traded notes with exposure to precious metals for no fee.
Fintech startup Dave, which saves customers from bank overdraft fees (and plants a tree each time), raised $50 million at a $1 billion valuation.
Investors are questioning whether managed futures strategies work anymore.
Famed hedge fund manager Joel Greenblatt makes the case for value investing: “buying the cheapest stocks still works”.
Fidelity cut trading commissions to zero, following Schwab, E-Trade and TD Ameritrade.
-The Accelerate Team
