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Here is the list (so far) of the crypto hacked Twitter account

Accounts hacked so far by the Bitcoin scam, asking you send coins to a bogus address

  •  Bill Gates
  •  Elon Musk
  •  Joe Biden
  •  Warren Buffett
  •  Kanye West
  •  Michael Bloomberg
  •  Apple
  •  Uber
  •  Jeff Bezos
  •  Barack Obama
Tweet looks like this – DO NOT SEND COINS TO ANYONE AT ALL RIGHT NOW until this thing is fixed:
Accounts hacked so far by the Bitcoin scam, asking you send coins to a bogus address

AstraZeneca and Gilead Science to merge?

How likely is deal?

How likely is deal? 
Bloomberg reported that AstraZeneca contacted Gilead last month about a potential $232 bln pharma powerhouse merger. According to Jefferie analysts the merger is unlikely:

While Gilead may look cheap with its price-to-earnings ratio of 12 times and AstraZeneca may be attracted by the potential cost-cutting and decent free cashflow, Jefferies analysts said they do not view a deal as likely. “We think Gilead believes its HIV business is very underappreciated,” they said in a note, adding that the company “would prefer to build value over time and do its own tuck-in deals

China makes no 2020 GDP target – cites virus impact and global uncertainties

Bloomberg report that China has dropped its economic growth target completely – there is no target set for the year.

Bloomberg citing a report to the National People’s Congress it has sighted.
In 2019 the target was 6 – 6.5% for GDP, which was hit (coming in at 6.1%)

 

China is to start buying oil for state reserves after sharp drop in prices – report

Bloomberg reports, citing people with knowledge of the matter

Bloomberg reports, citing people with knowledge of the matter

The report says that China is moving forward with plans to buy up oil for its emergency reserves after the epic crash in oil prices over the past few weeks.

Adding that Beijing has asked departments to quickly begin filling tanks and options to lock in the current low prices in the market. Also noting that Beijing may use commercial space for storage as well – in addition to its state-owned reserves.
I don’t think this comes as much of a surprise as China is the biggest crude oil importer in the world, and there has been so much speculation of them doing this already. There were even reports on this as far as three weeks back as seen here at the time.
But at least with China stepping in, it may help to briefly support prices somewhat in the near-term but don’t expect this to change the grand scheme of things.

Michael Bloomberg climbs into 2nd place on PredictIt for Democratic nominee

Michael Bloomberg is going to get a chance to make his case

Michael Bloomberg is going to get a chance to make his case
We’re still waiting for results from the Iowa caucus but it’s expected to be a win for Bernie or Pete Buttigieg. The story in betting markets, however, is the poor performance from Joe Biden. The market is coming around to the idea that he can’t win and that establishment voters may turn elsewhere.
That leaves Klobuchar, who remains distantly behind, and Bloomberg, who is having his moment.
The billionaire has risen to 20% on PredictIt and passed Joe Biden. I think he lacks the charisma and ability to connect with people to sustain any real momentum, but he certainly has the deep pockets to sustain a run.
If he loses to Bernie, he’s ruled out a 3rd party run but I’m sure he will be dogged by those questions.

Will China GDP matter more to assets than any US-China deal?

Via Bloomberg

China
The title of this post was a good question on Bloomberg’s Markets live blog at the end of last week. Mark Cranfield phrased the question as follows:

China’s 3Q GDP is due Oct 18 and it could be the first time on record that it prints below 6%. That could have a greater long-term impact on assets than a partial trade deal. Especially, as Bloomberg Economics expect policy makers to step up stimulus in response to stabilise the mainland economy.

If so, will that make China equities an asset class that become less correlated to the direction of Wall Street and global stocks? Would it trigger an asset swicth away from China bonds that spills over to other fixed income markets?

My assessment is that Firstly.  China’s GDP growth is going to be slowing due to reasons of growth. It is not the norm for developed countries to have double digit growth in the GDP. As China joins those developed nations it is only normal that GDP slows in pace.
Secondly, on a more general note, I think that the US-China deal matters more than the GDP figures. No deal – bad GDP would have been the worst outcome. With the US and China together making up 40% of the world’s GDP and the US on it own about 25% a good deal between those two countries should ultimately put positivity back into asset classes. It feels like the disaster outcome has avoided for now.
What is your take on it?

Asset Managers With $74 Trillion on Brink of Historic Shakeout

This is quite amazing via Bloomberg:

“The industry that gave rise to investing titans Peter LynchBill Miller and Bill Gross is facing an existential crisis.

For years, mom-and-pop investors frustrated by high fees and subpar returns from big-name money managers have been shifting their savings into ultra-cheap funds that simply mimic the returns generated by benchmark stock and bond indexes. Passive investing, as it is known, was in. Active was out.

At first, few noticed the trickle of money out of funds run by star money managers into cheaper index products. But now, no one can ignore the flood. The exodus from active funds has sent fees inexorably lower, led to the loss of thousands of jobs and forced large-scale consolidation among firms. That’s pushing the industry, with $74 trillion in assets as measured by Boston Consulting Group, towards a shakeout where only the strongest will survive.”

 

The graphic tells the story:

Tip from a billionaire: going to the bathroom wastes too much time

Michael Bloomberg has handed out some tips on his formula for success:

  • You make your own luck
  • The harder you work, the luckier you get
  • Try to be the first one in in the morning and the last one to leave at night
  • Take the fewest vacations
  • Take the least time away from the desk to go to the bathroom or have lunch
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