5 top finance stories, and how Bitcoin is in hyperinflation
Here are the top finance stories right now:
North Korea fires another missile over Japan: North Korea sent a missile over Japan and into the northern Pacific Ocean in its longest-ever test flight. According to a North Korean newspaper, this demonstrates that the country can “turn the American empire into a sea in flames through sudden surprise attack from any region and area.”
Alphabet is looking to invest in Lyft: Alphabet’s private-equity arm may invest $1 billion in ride-hailing company Lyft, Bloomberg reported. Lyft is the No. 2 ride provider behind Uber Technologies.
Angry Birds maker Rovio thinks it’s worth $1 billion: Finnish mobile games company Rovio Entertainment set its the initial price range for its IPO at 10.25-11.50 euros per share would give the company a market value of 802 million euros to 896 million euros ($955.34 million – $1.07 billion).
Oracle earnings beat expectations, but outlook disappoints: Oracle’s reported revenue of $9.21 billion and earnings of $0.62 per share, beating expectations for the quarter ending August 31. But management’s outlook for current quarter earnings fell short of expectations, signaling slowing growth in its red-hot cloud computing business.
US equity funds see biggest inflows in 13 weeks: Investors poured $1.9 billion into US stock funds in the week ending September 14, according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
Market update:
World markets are brushing off the latest defiant act from North Korea. Stocks closed higher in Asia with Japan’s Nikkei climbing 0.5% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng up 0.1%. Markets are flat in Europe. The British pound climbed to a 14-month high of $1.35 after Bank of England’s Gertjan Vlieghe said “the appropriate time for a rise in Bank Rate might be as early as in the coming month.”
… A few more headlines:
Japan’s Softbank wants a big chunk of Uber, but at a steep discount
Macy’s to hire 80,000 workers for holidays, fewer than last year
Portland probe finds Uber used software to evade 16 government officials
Facebook is the latest tech giant to hunt for AI talent in Canada
Who’s Warren Buffett’s successor? JPMorgan thinks it’s Greg Abel
Hugh Hendry closes hedge fund after 15 years as losses mount
What’s ahead Friday (All times ET):
8:30am: Retail Sales: Analysts estimate 0.1% growth month-over-month, or 0.3% excluding autos and gas.
9:15am: Industrial Production: Analysts estimate 0.1% growth month-over-month.
10:00am: Univ. of Michigan Consumer Sentiment: Analysts estimate this index fell to 95 from 96.8 a month ago.
Something to think about: Bitcoin is in hyperinflation
The unfavorable sentiment towards Bitcoin by Wall Street analysts persists. Here’s UBS’s Paul Donovon on the suggestion that Bitcoin is a currency: “In 1922, the start of the Weimar hyperinflation saw the German Mark lose 27% of its value against the dollar every fortnight. Bitcoin has lost 45% of its value against the dollar in the last fortnight. If Bitcoin were a currency, that loss of value would be considered hyperinflation. German Mark banknotes could be reused as wallpaper. Bitcoin cannot.”
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