Sanrith Descartes
Veteran of a thousand threadban wars
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Investing General Discussion
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Sanrith Descartes
Veteran of a thousand threadban wars
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VIH - Note the bold highlighted section.
Crypto exchange Bakkt to go public via $2.1-bln deal with blank-check firm
REUTERS 8:56 AM ET 1/11/2021
Symbol Last Price Change
ICE 117.63down 0 (0%)
VIH 16.48up 0 (0%)
MSFT 219.62up 0 (0%)
QUOTES AS OF 07:00:00 PM ET 01/08/2021
Jan 11 (Reuters) - Intercontinental Exchange Inc(ICE) -owned Bakkt said on Monday it has agreed to go public through a merger with blank-check firm VPC Impact Acquisition Holdings(VIH), giving the cryptocurrency platform an enterprise value of $2.1 billion.
The deal is expected to provide Bakkt, founded by outgoing Georgia Senator Kelly Loeffler and backed by Microsoft(MSFT) and Boston Consulting Group, with $207 million in cash and $325 million from other investors, including $50 million from ICE.
The rush to go public comes as the demand for Bitcoin and other digital tokens from retail investors rise as they look for quick gains in a world of ultra-low yields and negative interest rates.
After scaling a record high of $40,000 against the dollar on Jan.7, Bitcoin, the world's most popular digital currency, hit a one-week low to $33,447 on Monday, indicating wild price swings in cryptocurrency exchanges. (Bitcoin hits one-week low as rising U.S. yields dent rally)
Cryptocurrency platform Coinbase had in December confidentially applied to go public, a move that could make it the first such exchange operator in the United States to list on the stock market.
Stock market debuts by such trading platforms are also likely to give more acceptability to digital assets among skeptics and regulators.
Blank-check firm VPC had raised $200 million through an initial public offering (IPO) last year. [S-1/A ]
SPACs are shell companies that raise money through an IPO to take another company public within two years. Such mergers have become a popular alternative for companies looking to go public, with over 200 SPAC deals collectively raising more than $70 billion in equity last year.
Post merger, the combined company will be renamed Bakkt Holdings and will be listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
Crypto exchange Bakkt to go public via $2.1-bln deal with blank-check firm
REUTERS 8:56 AM ET 1/11/2021
Symbol Last Price Change
ICE 117.63down 0 (0%)
VIH 16.48up 0 (0%)
MSFT 219.62up 0 (0%)
QUOTES AS OF 07:00:00 PM ET 01/08/2021
Jan 11 (Reuters) - Intercontinental Exchange Inc(ICE) -owned Bakkt said on Monday it has agreed to go public through a merger with blank-check firm VPC Impact Acquisition Holdings(VIH), giving the cryptocurrency platform an enterprise value of $2.1 billion.
The deal is expected to provide Bakkt, founded by outgoing Georgia Senator Kelly Loeffler and backed by Microsoft(MSFT) and Boston Consulting Group, with $207 million in cash and $325 million from other investors, including $50 million from ICE.
The rush to go public comes as the demand for Bitcoin and other digital tokens from retail investors rise as they look for quick gains in a world of ultra-low yields and negative interest rates.
After scaling a record high of $40,000 against the dollar on Jan.7, Bitcoin, the world's most popular digital currency, hit a one-week low to $33,447 on Monday, indicating wild price swings in cryptocurrency exchanges. (Bitcoin hits one-week low as rising U.S. yields dent rally)
Cryptocurrency platform Coinbase had in December confidentially applied to go public, a move that could make it the first such exchange operator in the United States to list on the stock market.
Stock market debuts by such trading platforms are also likely to give more acceptability to digital assets among skeptics and regulators.
Blank-check firm VPC had raised $200 million through an initial public offering (IPO) last year. [S-1/A ]
SPACs are shell companies that raise money through an IPO to take another company public within two years. Such mergers have become a popular alternative for companies looking to go public, with over 200 SPAC deals collectively raising more than $70 billion in equity last year.
Post merger, the combined company will be renamed Bakkt Holdings and will be listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
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Sanrith Descartes
Veteran of a thousand threadban wars
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AAPL , TSLA
Interesting take on the EV market. As I have experience in the manufacturing industry, let me tell you seeing those margins of 1 and 2% are no joke. There is a reason the US outsources our manufacturing overseas. Even with the cost of shipping the shit halfway around the world, its still cheaper than manufacturing here in the US. And auto manufacturing is even worse. Would you willing invest your personal cash into a stock that was going to return 1 or 2% a year?
Making an Apple EV Is a Poisoned Chalice for Car Companies
DOW JONES & COMPANY, INC. 8:04 AM ET 1/11/2021
Symbol Last Price Change
AAPL 132.05up 0 (0%)
QUOTES AS OF 04:00:00 PM ET 01/08/2021
An Apple(AAPL) car, if it is ever launched, would be a big deal. But the potential rewards for manufacturers come with a sting.
Hyundai shares rose 9% Monday after a Korean newspaper reported that the car maker plans to sign an agreement with Apple(AAPL) for an autonomous electric vehicle. The stock had already jumped 19% on Friday, when Hyundai said it was in early- stage discussions with the iPhone designer.
Apple (AAPL) started to work on a vehicle in 2014, but the project has progressed fitfully and the company has rarely acknowledged it publicly. A Reuters report last month said it was targeting a 2024 launch, which would be very ambitious for anything with a meaningful degree of autonomy. Hyundai would likely be a production partner, akin to the role Taiwanese electronics giant Foxconn plays in iPhone assembly.
For all the glamour -- and potential manufacturing volumes -- of being associated with an Apple(AAPL)-branded car, the almost $15 billion gain in Hyundai's market value since Thursday's close is hard to justify. Besides the risks that the talks come to nothing, or that any project drains cash for longer than expected, contract manufacturing isn't an especially attractive business.
Canadian supplier Magna International, which is also seen as a potential partner for Apple(AAPL), assembles vehicles under other brands, notably the Jaguar I-Pace, an all-electric sport-utility vehicle. The activity hasn't been very profitable. Magna's "complete vehicles" division reported operating margins of 2.1% and 1.1% in 2019 and 2018, respectively, lower than at its parts businesses.
So why are some established car makers now offering to make EVs for potential rivals? Beyond Hyundai's talks with Apple(AAPL), General Motors agreed to make a pickup truck for U.S. startup Nikola last year, before that part of the deal unraveled amid revelations that Nikola founder Trevor Milton exaggerated the company's technology.
In GM's case, the arrangement was a way to spread the cost of its EV technology over a broader base of vehicles, whether or not they bear a GM brand, and to pave a new growth path. Hyundai, which unveiled its own EV platform last month, may be making a similar calculation in its talks with Apple(AAPL), which could be much more consequential. Both car makers have come to be seen as forward-thinking and their stocks have risen close to previous records.
The risk is that such deals facilitate the rise of new EV brands, while giving established car companies an even less satisfactory return than Magna currently makes from vehicle assembly. Foxconn, whose iPhone margins are infamously thin, in October launched an automotive platform that it wants to be the "Android of EVs." It is unclear how far the company will get involved with the difficult business of vehicle assembly, but the move underlines the risk of new, return-sapping competition from the electronics and battery manufacturing hubs of East Asia.
Much activity in the car industry is currently motivated by the $834 billion market value of Tesla. If this number can be rationalized, which is challenging, it is only with reference to the value of Tesla's brand and product development -- the elements no EV startup wants to outsource. For car makers, seeking assembly contracts is a growth strategy that may run into a dead end, even with a brand as powerful as Apple(AAPL).
Interesting take on the EV market. As I have experience in the manufacturing industry, let me tell you seeing those margins of 1 and 2% are no joke. There is a reason the US outsources our manufacturing overseas. Even with the cost of shipping the shit halfway around the world, its still cheaper than manufacturing here in the US. And auto manufacturing is even worse. Would you willing invest your personal cash into a stock that was going to return 1 or 2% a year?
Making an Apple EV Is a Poisoned Chalice for Car Companies
DOW JONES & COMPANY, INC. 8:04 AM ET 1/11/2021
Symbol Last Price Change
AAPL 132.05up 0 (0%)
QUOTES AS OF 04:00:00 PM ET 01/08/2021
An Apple(AAPL) car, if it is ever launched, would be a big deal. But the potential rewards for manufacturers come with a sting.
Hyundai shares rose 9% Monday after a Korean newspaper reported that the car maker plans to sign an agreement with Apple(AAPL) for an autonomous electric vehicle. The stock had already jumped 19% on Friday, when Hyundai said it was in early- stage discussions with the iPhone designer.
Apple (AAPL) started to work on a vehicle in 2014, but the project has progressed fitfully and the company has rarely acknowledged it publicly. A Reuters report last month said it was targeting a 2024 launch, which would be very ambitious for anything with a meaningful degree of autonomy. Hyundai would likely be a production partner, akin to the role Taiwanese electronics giant Foxconn plays in iPhone assembly.
For all the glamour -- and potential manufacturing volumes -- of being associated with an Apple(AAPL)-branded car, the almost $15 billion gain in Hyundai's market value since Thursday's close is hard to justify. Besides the risks that the talks come to nothing, or that any project drains cash for longer than expected, contract manufacturing isn't an especially attractive business.
Canadian supplier Magna International, which is also seen as a potential partner for Apple(AAPL), assembles vehicles under other brands, notably the Jaguar I-Pace, an all-electric sport-utility vehicle. The activity hasn't been very profitable. Magna's "complete vehicles" division reported operating margins of 2.1% and 1.1% in 2019 and 2018, respectively, lower than at its parts businesses.
So why are some established car makers now offering to make EVs for potential rivals? Beyond Hyundai's talks with Apple(AAPL), General Motors agreed to make a pickup truck for U.S. startup Nikola last year, before that part of the deal unraveled amid revelations that Nikola founder Trevor Milton exaggerated the company's technology.
In GM's case, the arrangement was a way to spread the cost of its EV technology over a broader base of vehicles, whether or not they bear a GM brand, and to pave a new growth path. Hyundai, which unveiled its own EV platform last month, may be making a similar calculation in its talks with Apple(AAPL), which could be much more consequential. Both car makers have come to be seen as forward-thinking and their stocks have risen close to previous records.
The risk is that such deals facilitate the rise of new EV brands, while giving established car companies an even less satisfactory return than Magna currently makes from vehicle assembly. Foxconn, whose iPhone margins are infamously thin, in October launched an automotive platform that it wants to be the "Android of EVs." It is unclear how far the company will get involved with the difficult business of vehicle assembly, but the move underlines the risk of new, return-sapping competition from the electronics and battery manufacturing hubs of East Asia.
Much activity in the car industry is currently motivated by the $834 billion market value of Tesla. If this number can be rationalized, which is challenging, it is only with reference to the value of Tesla's brand and product development -- the elements no EV startup wants to outsource. For car makers, seeking assembly contracts is a growth strategy that may run into a dead end, even with a brand as powerful as Apple(AAPL).
Sanrith Descartes
Veteran of a thousand threadban wars
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TWTR
"The president's personal Twitter account had more than 88 million followers, which equated to nearly half of Twitter's total number of average daily users." - WSJ
"The president's personal Twitter account had more than 88 million followers, which equated to nearly half of Twitter's total number of average daily users." - WSJ
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Fuck Twitter. Hope they continue to eat shit.
GHIV with a nice start to the day. Going to be an interesting week for everything.
GHIV with a nice start to the day. Going to be an interesting week for everything.
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Sanrith Descartes
Veteran of a thousand threadban wars
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- 107,574
Wrote some QQQ puts down at the 100 DMA expiring on Friday. Sacrificed some premium vs selling at the 50 DMA but I think this week I like being a little cautious vs being a little greedy.
QQQ, $290 strike, expiry 1/15, premium 41 cents.
QQQ, $290 strike, expiry 1/15, premium 41 cents.
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Borzak
Bronze Baron of the Realm
- 24,672
- 32,054
Now cheaper to build HRSG's (Heat Recovery Steam Generators) overseas in Indonesia and such and ship them to be installed in the US. Not high tech, just welded steel. About the size of two houses welded together and 40' tall. I toured one factory in Thailand on the way back from Tokyo. We have OSHA, they have guys welding with a paper plate they hold up to guard their face while wearing shorts, t-shirt and flip flops. Steel bought in the US cause it's required to be US rolled steel, shipped there, fabricated there, shipped back, transported on gigantic multi part trailers then installed and it comes out cheaper. Can't figure out why the US got left behind.
Sanrith Descartes
Veteran of a thousand threadban wars
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I have had this convo a lot over the years. It comes down to standard of living. We have this amazing standard of living but at the same time no one wants to pay the price at the store for American made products. "Pay $24.99 for a 3 pack of US made t-shirts? Fuck that, I am buying the 6-pack for $3.99 from China." We can't have it both ways.
Fogel
Mr. Poopybutthole
- 12,214
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We need our cheap stuff at any cost, usually the cost is lives
en.wikipedia.org
The 2013 Dhaka garment factory collapse (also referred to as the 2013 Savar building collapse or the Rana Plaza collapse) was a structural failure that occurred on 24 April 2013 in the Savar Upazila of Dhaka District, Bangladesh, where an eight-story commercial building called Rana Plaza collapsed. The search for the dead ended on 13 May 2013 with a death toll of 1,134.[2] Approximately 2,500 injured people were rescued from the building alive.[4] It is considered the deadliest structural failure accident in modern human history and the deadliest garment-factory disaster in history.[5][6]
The building contained clothing factories, a bank, apartments, and several shops. The shops and the bank on the lower floors were immediately closed after cracks were discovered in the building.[7][8][9] The building's owners ignored warnings to avoid using the building after cracks had appeared the day before. Garment workers were ordered to return the following day, and the building collapsed during the morning rush-hour.[10]
Rana Plaza collapse - Wikipedia
The 2013 Dhaka garment factory collapse (also referred to as the 2013 Savar building collapse or the Rana Plaza collapse) was a structural failure that occurred on 24 April 2013 in the Savar Upazila of Dhaka District, Bangladesh, where an eight-story commercial building called Rana Plaza collapsed. The search for the dead ended on 13 May 2013 with a death toll of 1,134.[2] Approximately 2,500 injured people were rescued from the building alive.[4] It is considered the deadliest structural failure accident in modern human history and the deadliest garment-factory disaster in history.[5][6]
The building contained clothing factories, a bank, apartments, and several shops. The shops and the bank on the lower floors were immediately closed after cracks were discovered in the building.[7][8][9] The building's owners ignored warnings to avoid using the building after cracks had appeared the day before. Garment workers were ordered to return the following day, and the building collapsed during the morning rush-hour.[10]
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Sanrith Descartes
Veteran of a thousand threadban wars
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KO is not going to let me go gently into the night with my put options expiring this Friday. Strike is $50 and current price is $50.33
Sanrith Descartes
Veteran of a thousand threadban wars
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Boomer stock alert!
LMT is sitting down at the intermediate support level. Lowest it has been since black Monday last March. Its not a growth stock and hasn't seen a lot of love since it is in the same sector as BA, but the company balance sheet is rock solid, it makes lots of profit and pays over 3% dividend yield while you wait. PE is down to 14 and EPS is $23.40 with large free cash flow.
LMT is sitting down at the intermediate support level. Lowest it has been since black Monday last March. Its not a growth stock and hasn't seen a lot of love since it is in the same sector as BA, but the company balance sheet is rock solid, it makes lots of profit and pays over 3% dividend yield while you wait. PE is down to 14 and EPS is $23.40 with large free cash flow.
Sanrith Descartes
Veteran of a thousand threadban wars
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PSTH warrants (PSTHWS) going ballistic again today. +14% so far. Someone is betting on an announcement soon. PSTH is holding the $30 level mark. Since this was a double sized SPAC this is equivalent to a normal SPAC pricing at $15 without a merger target.
Furry
WoW Office
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We need our cheap stuff at any cost, usually the cost is lives
Rana Plaza collapse - Wikipedia
The 2013 Dhaka garment factory collapse (also referred to as the 2013 Savar building collapse or the Rana Plaza collapse) was a structural failure that occurred on 24 April 2013 in the Savar Upazila of Dhaka District, Bangladesh, where an eight-story commercial building called Rana Plaza collapsed. The search for the dead ended on 13 May 2013 with a death toll of 1,134.[2] Approximately 2,500 injured people were rescued from the building alive.[4] It is considered the deadliest structural failure accident in modern human history and the deadliest garment-factory disaster in history.[5][6]
The building contained clothing factories, a bank, apartments, and several shops. The shops and the bank on the lower floors were immediately closed after cracks were discovered in the building.[7][8][9] The building's owners ignored warnings to avoid using the building after cracks had appeared the day before. Garment workers were ordered to return the following day, and the building collapsed during the morning rush-hour.[10]
Pretty routine stuff for SE asia. Only surprising thing is that stuff shut down for a little, instead of someone plastering it over as soon as it was found.
Sanrith Descartes
Veteran of a thousand threadban wars
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Bad wording on my part, you are correct. I meant it has been staying in the 30$ range neighborhood. Its all psychological at this point since there really arent any technicals.
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Sanrith Descartes
Veteran of a thousand threadban wars
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SoftBank launched an AI seeking SPAC. Due your own due diligence. Its a normal $10 SPAC but opened Friday at or near $12
www.nasdaq.com
SoftBank's AI-focused SPAC SVF Investment Corp. files for a $525 million IPO
SVF Investment Corp., a blank check company formed by SoftBank targeting artificial intelligence, filed on Monday with the SEC to raise up to $525 million in an initial public offering. The San Carlos, CA-based company plans to raise $525 million by offering 52.5 million units a
www.nasdaq.com
Sanrith Descartes
Veteran of a thousand threadban wars
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Someone used the term $30 is the new $25. Hopefully they are correct. Warrants have been crazy today.