AMC Stock Gets Caught in Short Squeeze. Shares Are Up 180%.

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AMC’s stock joins a small group of companies that have been caught in a strange push and pull between professional short sellers and retail investors.

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  • Geely and Volvo to launch powertrain venture after merger scrapped

    China's Geely Automobile and its Swedish sister company Volvo Cars will abandon merger plans but launch a new entity to combine their powertrain operations and expand cooperation on electric vehicles, the companies said. A year ago the two said they were planning to merge, giving Volvo access to public markets, as global automakers pursue alliances to respond better to the cost of the transition to electric cars, tougher emission rules and autonomous driving. Geely and Volvo on Wednesday said they would preserve with their existing separate corporate structures after "a detailed review of combination options".

  • New Zealand Government Forces Central Bank to Include Housing In Rate Setting

    (Bloomberg) -- New Zealand’s government will require the central bank to take account of house prices when it sets interest rates, stepping up efforts to rein in a rampant property market.The Reserve Bank’s monetary policy remit will be changed so that the bank considers “the impact on housing when making monetary and financial policy decisions,” Finance Minister Grant Robertson said in a statement Thursday in Wellington. The New Zealand dollar rose to its highest since 2017 as investors saw the move restricting the RBNZ’s ability to run loose monetary policy.The government is trying to cool an overheating housing market, which has been fueled by record-low borrowing costs after the RBNZ responded to the coronavirus pandemic by slashing its cash rate and embarking on quantitative easing. While many central banks are required to have consideration for financial stability in addition to their inflation targets, an explicit requirement to take house prices into account is unusual.RBNZ Governor Adrian Orr pushed back against Robertson’s initial proposal last year, saying that forcing the bank to consider house prices when setting rates could lead to below-target employment and inflation.“The more objectives you’ve got, the more complicated it can be to meet all those objectives,” said Nick Tuffley, chief economist at ASB Bank in Auckland. “Inflation and employment is what they will focus on, but they have to think harder about how their decisions impact on the housing market.”Robertson said today that the RBNZ’s objectives and mandate remain the same, which is to maintain price stability, support full employment and promote a sound and stable financial system.The Monetary Policy Committee “retains autonomy over whether and how its decisions take account of potential housing consequences, but it will need to explain regularly how it has sought to assess the impacts on housing outcomes,” he said. “The bank will have to take into account the government’s objective to support more sustainable house prices, including by dampening investor demand for existing housing stock to help improve affordability for first-home buyers.”The kiwi dollar jumped about a third of a U.S. cent to 74.55 cents, its highest since August 2017. Bond yields and swap rates also rose on news of the changed remit, which comes into force on March 1. Investors are now pricing a 32% chance of a rate hike in November, even though the RBNZ yesterday sought to damp bets on tighter policy and said it could cut rates further if needed.Robertson ‘In Charge’“The market is saying no more rate cuts, so push the kiwi higher,” said Jason Wong, currency strategist at Bank of New Zealand in Wellington. “The RBNZ has shown its independence by saying ‘we don’t like this measure,’ but they are going to have to live with it because the finance minister’s in charge.”Robertson also issued a direction under the Reserve Bank Act requiring the bank to have regard to government policy on housing in relation to its financial policy functions.In a statement Thursday, the RBNZ said it “welcomes the direction it has received today from the Minister of Finance.” It said changes to financial stability policy are “in tune with our recent advice.”The bank acknowledged the change to its monetary policy remit but noted its targets “remain unchanged.”“The adjustments increase the focus on understanding and communicating the impact of the bank’s decisions on house price sustainability,” Orr said in the statement. “We have a long-standing commitment to transparency about our policy actions and approaches, and this will continue.”Soaring house prices have raised concerns that first-time buyers are being locked out of the market. Much of the surge has been attributed to investors taking advantage of low interest rates.The RBNZ, which predicts prices will rise 22% in the year through June, is reinstating mortgage lending restrictions and will tighten them further for investors from May. 1.Orr in December recommended that the bank be required to address the issue of rapid house-price inflation via financial policy, and requested it be allowed to add debt-to-income ratios to its macro-prudential toolkit.Robertson said today he has asked the RBNZ to provide advice on interest-only mortgages and debt-to-income ratios. He would want the latter to apply only to investors, he said.“Today’s announcement is just the first step as the government considers broader advice about how to cool the housing market,” Robertson said. “We know the rapid increases we have seen in recent months are not sustainable, which has meant many first-home buyers are struggling to access the market. We’ll be making further announcements in the coming weeks on other policy responses.”(Updates with economist’s comment in fifth paragraph)For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2021 Bloomberg L.P.

  • Apple supplier Foxconn teams up with Fisker to make electric vehicles

    Electric-car maker Fisker Inc said it will work with Apple Inc supplier Foxconn to produce more than 250,000 vehicles a year beginning in late 2023, sending its shares up 18%. The deal, codenamed "Project PEAR" (Personal Electric Automotive Revolution), is looking at markets globally, including North America, Europe, China and India, Fisker said. Foxconn, Apple's main iPhone maker, has ramped up its interest in electric vehicles (EVs) over the past year or so, announcing deals with Chinese electric-car maker Byton and automakers Zhejiang Geely Holding Group and Stellantis NV's Fiat Chrysler unit.

  • India’s Largest Bank Joins JPMorgan’s Blockchain Payments Network

    Liink, JPMorgan’s blockchain banking network, is based on a fork of Ethereum.

  • Powell Goes Easy on Surging Yields While Central Bank Peers Fret

    (Bloomberg) -- The unprecedented $9 trillion rescue mission by central banks to haul the world economy from its coronavirus recession is being tested as rising bond yields and inflation bets threaten their ability to keep borrowing costs down.While Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell this week called the recent run-up in bond yields “a statement of confidence” in the economic outlook, other counterparts are sounding less sanguine as their recoveries lag that of the U.S..European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde said Monday that she and colleagues are “closely monitoring” government debt yields. The Bank of Korea warned it’ll intervene in the market if borrowing costs jump, Australia’s central bank has been forced to resume buying bonds to enforce its yield target and the Reserve Bank of New Zealand Wednesday promised a prolonged period of stimulus even as the economic outlook there brightens.The bond market isn’t listening, tumbling again on Wednesday. U.S. 30-year Treasury yields surged as much as 11 basis points to 2.29%, their highest level since before the coronavirus-induced meltdown in March. The rate on similar-dated U.K. bonds also soared, with Germany’s following suit.Because government borrowing costs are used as the benchmark for pricing loans to businesses and consumers, any increase in yields trickles through to the real economy. That counters the campaign by central banks to drive recoveries with cheap money, potentially forcing them to deliver even more stimulus at some point.“It’s the U.S. bond market pulling up global bond yields, and in some cases in ways that are moving faster than they’d like,” said Ethan Harris, Bank of America Corp.’s head of global economic research. “If you’re in countries outside the U.S., you’re looking at this as kind of an unwelcome import.”In the U.S., 10-year Treasury yields have risen more than 50 basis points since the end of December as its economy shows signs of improving, vaccinations roll out and lawmakers ready even more fiscal stimulus. Economists at JPMorgan Chase & Co. now see growth of 6.2% this year, up from 4.2% at the start of the year.More broadly, the yield on the Bloomberg Barclays Global Aggregate Index, which includes investment-grade sovereign and corporate debt, has risen 20 basis points this year to above 1%. That follows a 62-basis-point decline in 2020.The jump in U.S. yields threatens to drag up other markets, challenging the policies of the ECB, Bank of Japan and Bank of England, Krishna Guha and Ernie Tedeschi of Evercore ISI told clients in a report this week. That’s a worry for those policy makers whose focus remains more on stoking growth than containing any nascent inflation pressures.The ECB could be in a particularly uncomfortable spot as it has pledged to keep financing conditions “favorable” through the crisis and is already facing a weaker recovery than counterparts.Yields on 10-year German government bonds have climbed above -0.3% this month from -0.6% in November while equivalent French yields are now barely below zero, compared with -0.3% three months ago.One option for the ECB is to accelerate bond buying via its pandemic emergency purchase program. Another is to strengthen its message on how long it intends to keep interest rates low.“The ECB has a number of potentially powerful options in its toolbox to anchor bond yields,” said Nick Kounis, head of financial markets research at ABN Amro Holding NV.In Japan, where investors are nervously awaiting the outcome of the central bank’s policy review, yields for 10-year bonds rose to 0.12%, the highest level since Nov. 2018. That’s still within officials’ comfort range of 20 basis points on either side of its target, but some market participants forecast the range to be expanded with the BOJ announcement on March 19.Higher Treasury yields are also a threat for emerging economies, where historically they sparked currency volatility and choppy capital flows, especially for countries that rely on external funding. That then slows expansions, as happened in 2013 when concern the Fed was pulling back triggered a ripple effect.Bloomberg Economics predicts the central banks of Argentina, Brazil and Nigeria will all turn more hawkish this year.“The Fed remains in a more comfortable position compared to many of its peers in emerging markets,” said Frederic Neumann, co-head of Asian economics research at HSBC Holdings Plc. “Inflation in the U.S. is far better anchored than in small, open economies.”Some economists say the yield moves and the bets on an inflation revival may mark something of a turning point for the global economy.“Central banks are now throwing the kitchen sink at beating deflation and disinflation just as they threw it at high inflation in the 1980s and early 1990s,” said Shane Oliver, chief economist at AMP Capital Investors Ltd. in Sydney. “There is a strong case to be made that the disinflation seen since the 1970s is coming to an end and that the long-term trend in inflation is at or close to bottoming.”Still, others point out that disinflation forces will linger, especially as labor markets remain weaker than before the pandemic and full economic recoveries hinge on successfully controlling the virus and delivering vaccines.“I am still not so sure whether the recovery-related steepening of the curve will be long lasting,” said Alicia Garcia Herrero, Asia Pacific chief economist with Natixis SA. “There are a number of risks that might bring us back to a less upbeat scenario.”(Updates with Wednesday’s market moves in fourth paragraph.)For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2021 Bloomberg L.P.

  • Stock market news live updates: Dow rallies to reach record high as tech stocks recover losses

    Stocks opened lower on Wednesday to pick up declines from the past week, with tech shares still under pressure.

  • Biden to press for $37 billion to boost chip manufacturing amid shortfall

    President Joe Biden said on Wednesday he would seek $37 billion in funding for legislation to supercharge chip manufacturing in the United States as a shortfall of semiconductors has forced U.S. automakers and other manufacturers to cut production. Biden also signed an executive order on Wednesday aimed at addressing the global semiconductor chip shortage that has alarmed the White House and members of Congress, administration officials said.

  • After India stifled its TikTok dreams, Bytedance is building its Asia hub in Singapore

    "Bytedance plans to make Singapore its epicenter for the rest of Asia-Pacific in its quest to find a neutral ground amid the ongoing trade tensions between the US and China."

  • Bharti Airtel partners with Qualcomm to drive 5G services in India

    Bharti Airtel Ltd said on Tuesday it will work with U.S. chipmaker Qualcomm for 5G services in India, as telecom firms in the world's second-largest wireless market gear up to usher in the latest generation of wireless networks. Airtel, placed second to Reliance Industries-owned Jio by subscribers, said in a statement to stock exchanges that it will use Qualcomm's Radio Access Network platforms, which runs services on the cloud, to roll out 5G networks in the country.

  • In Trump Farm Bailout, Top 1% Reaped Nearly One-Fourth of Aid

    (Bloomberg) -- The Trump administration’s farm bailouts steered an expanding share of subsidy payments to the nation’s biggest farms, according to an analysis by an environmental advocacy group that highlights issues of equity as the Biden administration designs potential new climate-related financial incentives for farmers.Just 1% of farm aid recipients collected 23% of subsidy payments in 2019, up from 17% in 2016, as former President Donald Trump’s trade bailout swelled payments to farmers. Their portion crept up to 24% in the first half of 2020, the most recent period covered in the data, as farm aid hit a record level with coronavirus relief payments, according to the Environmental Working Group analysis.That is the largest share of federal farm subsidies going to the top 1% -- the 7,873 subsidy recipients who got the highest payments -- since 2007, according to the analysis. The average payment for that group was $497,907.The findings follow criticism from Democrats that Trump’s farm bailouts were skewed toward large farms and academic studies concluding the trade aid payments were greater than farmers’ actual losses from Trump’s tariff conflict with China. A General Accountability Office report issued in September found the top 25 recipients of trade aid in 2019 received an average of $1.5 million per farm.“This certainly adds to the questions about the way that program was designed,” said Jonathan Coppess, a University of Illinois professor who ran the federal agency that administers farm subsidies during the Obama administration and wasn’t involved in the advocacy group’s analysis. “Why all of a sudden did you see this big a shift?”American farmers in 2020 had their most profitable year since 2013, largely because of federal aid, which accounted for 38% of their net income, the U.S. Department of Agriculture reported earlier this month. Crop prices also rose late in the year as China stepped up agricultural imports.“The largest and wealthiest farms should not be getting most of the money, because they have large assets to fall back on in times of trouble,” said Anne Schechinger, a senior analyst with the group. “We’re at a time when so many Americans have lost their jobs, are struggling to put food on the table or keep their businesses open, it makes you wonder why so much money is going to farmers, especially the largest, wealthiest farmers.She said the shift in subsidy payments toward larger farms in 2019 likely was driven by Trump’s adoption of a more generous formula for computing trade losses that year and a decision to double the maximum trade aid benefit per person. Large operators sometimes increase their subsidy payments by including relatives, even ones who live in distant cities, as actively engaged in management of the farm, multiplying the benefits they are allowed.Trump administration officials defended the program against criticism that too much money went to large farms, arguing that they tend to be more productive and so suffer larger losses from trade-related commodity price drops.Carbon Bank?Schechinger said the Environmental Working Group, which advocates re-directing farm subsidies to smaller operators and conservation programs, released the findings in part to focus attention on inequities in aid distribution as the Biden administration considers financial incentives to encourage farmers to adopt climate-friendly practices.Administration officials have floated ideas including a carbon bank to finance payments to farmers who take steps to sequester additional carbon in soil and other measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Schechinger said her organization wants the USDA to avoid advantaging larger operations over smaller ones when it makes proposals. The Senate on Tuesday confirmed Tom Vilsack as Biden’s agriculture secretary. Vilsack also held that post during the Obama years.USDA spokesman Matt Herrick said the department under Biden is determined to avoid skewed distribution of farm aid.“Whether it is Covid-19 market disruptions, trade disputes or extreme weather, it’s the department’s responsibility to provide support to as many producers as possible without focusing on one group or geography at the expense of another,” Herrick said in an emailed response to the analysis. “We must create a more level playing field for small and medium producers and a more balanced, equitable economy for everyone working in food and agriculture.”The Environmental Working Group regularly obtains data on federal farm subsidy payments through the Freedom of Information Act. Its analysis covered total farm subsidy payments, which includes both one-time programs under Trump and continuing farm programs authorized by Congress.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2021 Bloomberg L.P.

  • Jetmakers to lose orders in Norwegian restructuring: sources

    The Irish High Court this week is hearing arguments concerning the repudiation of some of Norwegian’s liabilities including aircraft leases. Airbus declined to comment. Boeing was not immediately available for comment.

  • Lordstown Motors CEO: We have pre-sold 100,000 electric pickup trucks

    Lordstown Motors gets ready to bring its electric pickup truck called the Endurance to market. Yahoo Finance chats with Lordstown Motors founder and CEO Steve Burns.

  • Charlie Munger on Robinhood and GameStop frenzy: 'It's a dirty way to make money'

    Charlie Munger, vice chairman of Berkshire Hathaway and long-time business partner of Warren Buffett, issued a strong condemnation of the businesses he said enabled the recent frenzy of speculative trading by retail investors.

  • Exclusive: AstraZeneca to miss second-quarter EU vaccine supply target by half - EU official

    AstraZeneca Plc has told the European Union it expects to deliver less than half the COVID-19 vaccines it was contracted to supply in the second quarter, an EU official told Reuters on Tuesday. Contacted by Reuters, AstraZeneca did not deny what the official said, but a statement late in the day said the company was striving to increase productivity to deliver the promised 180 million doses. The expected shortfall, which has not previously been reported, follows a big reduction in supplies in the first quarter and could hit the EU's ability to meet its target of vaccinating 70% of adults by summer.

  • Bit Digital Expands Its North American Hosted Mining Partnerships

    The company plans to expand U.S. mining with Compute North, Core Scientific and others, per a release.

  • Price of Gold Fundamental Daily Forecast – A Dovish Powell Could Sink the Dollar, Spiking Gold Prices Higher

    A stock market plunge could drive investors into the safe-haven U.S. Dollar that could lead to renewed pressure on gold prices.

  • Spirit Aero revenue halves, flies into loss as Boeing troubles weigh

    Spirit gets a big chunk of its revenue from Boeing Co, which was forced to cut back production due to the grounding of its 737 MAX jet and a slump in air travel due to the pandemic. The MAX was finally cleared late last year to fly after being grounded for nearly two years and Spirit hopes to benefit from a ramp-up in production at the planemaker. Boeing 737 MAX deliveries fell to 19 shipsets from 153 a year earlier.

  • Johnson & Johnson's one-dose vaccine closes in on U.S. approval

    Johnson & Johnson's one-dose COVID-19 vaccine appeared safe and effective in trials, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said Wednesday, paving the way for its approval for emergency use as soon as this week. The vaccine was 66% effective at preventing moderate to severe COVID-19 in a 44,000 person global trial, the FDA said in documents ahead of a Friday meeting of independent experts who will advise the agency on emergency authorization. New data provided by J&J to the FDA showed the vaccine was 64% effective at stopping moderate to severe cases of COVID-19 after 28 days in thousands of trial participants in South Africa where a worrying new variant has swept across the country.

  • India plans new social media controls after Twitter face-off

    Chafing from a dispute with Twitter, India plans to oblige social media companies to erase contentious content fast and assist investigations, according to a draft regulation. New Delhi's planned "Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code" - a copy of which was seen by Reuters - come as various nations around the world try to assert tighter control over powerful Big Tech firms. Facebook faced a global backlash from publishers and politicians last week after blocking news feeds in Australia in a dispute with the government over revenue-sharing.

  • Biden-Trudeau Climate Plan May Target Polluting Trade Rivals

    (Bloomberg) -- Canada and the U.S. are working on joint environment plans that could include singling out countries with weaker climate laws, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says.The Canadian leader said in an interview with Bloomberg News that his country’s plans to deepen climate cooperation with the U.S. will include complementary policies that take “into account the emissions profiles of industrial competitors around the world.”Some countries “are producing without having the same kinds of leadership on climate change that the U.S. is bringing into place and that we already have,” Trudeau said in the telephone interview Wednesday, one day after a bilateral meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden and key officials. “That level of transparency and accountability is something that we are concretely looking at moving forward on.”Trudeau’s comment illustrates just how far the idea of penalizing high-emitting countries -- perhaps with carbon taxes on their exports -- has advanced in recent months among major economies ramping up efforts to curb pollution. Such levies could alleviate some of the competitiveness concerns, and political backlash, associated with new climate regulations and laws.Trudeau didn’t mention specifically the idea of a carbon border levy in the interview, other than to say more details will be unveiled in the coming months, ahead of an April climate summit the White House is planning.His trade chief, Mary Ng, said earlier this month the Canadian government is “working on” the idea, as part of broader efforts to find areas where economic goals and climate targets align. A Canadian government official said a number of measures are being looked at around the world, with carbon adjustments being just one tool.Taxing goods from countries with weaker climate laws has won the support of U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who is expected to use his country’s Group of Seven presidency this year to win support for so-called carbon border adjustments. The European Parliament’s environment committee backed a resolution earlier this month urging the European Commission to put a price on emissions from imported products by 2023.‘Competitive Disadvantage’Biden has promised aggressive action to combat climate change and on the campaign trail signaled his support for carbon fees or quotas that would raise the price of imported goods from countries with lax climate controls.“As the U.S. takes steps to make domestic polluters bear the full cost of their carbon pollution, the Biden administration will impose carbon adjustment fees or quotas on carbon-intensive goods from countries that are failing to meet their climate and environmental obligations,” Biden’s campaign pledged in a clean energy blueprint last year. “This will ensure that American workers and their employers are not at a competitive disadvantage and simultaneously encourage other nations to raise their climate ambitions.”However, it isn’t clear whether a carbon levy on imports would comply with World Trade Organization rules without a similar domestic tax.U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry and Canada’s Environment Minister Jonathan Wilkinson also spoke Wednesday about how the two countries can coordinate their efforts. Wilkinson told reporters in Ottawa after the meeting the pair spoke about carbon tariffs and there is interest in the concept, but that the priority remains on building global ambitions to fight climate change.“After four years of moving in entirely different directions on this file with the United States, it is certainly great to be working together again,” Wilkinson said.The Canadian minister cited Japan, India, China, Australia and Mexico as countries that should face pressure to lower their emissions.For Trudeau, pushing aggressively on climate provides some defense against attacks on his country’s environmental record, which is complicated by Canada’s large oil and gas sector. Trudeau’s two-hour virtual meeting with Biden sought to soothe growing tensions over the U.S. administration’s decision to cancel a permit for a major oil pipeline over the Canada-U.S. border.In the interview, Trudeau said Biden won’t change his mind on the Keystone XL pipeline but that Canada is focused on other energy issues with the U.S., including how the two countries can work together to build a cleaner electrical grid -- a key to meeting 2030 emissions goals, he said.“Those issues were brought up. We spent most of our time talking however about the larger idea of energy strategy and climate change at the same time,” Trudeau said. On Keystone, “I think it’s very clear that the U.S. administration has made its decision on that, a decision that we disagree with and are disappointed by.”(Updates with Kerry-Wilkinson meeting, minister’s comment beginning in 11th paragraph.)For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2021 Bloomberg L.P.