Tech Review (TR 2018-10-06)--Domain Mondo's weekly review of tech investing news with commentary, analysis and opinion: Features • 1) Crypto & Crime, Innovation, Regulation, 2) $Esports, 3) Investing: The Week, Investing Notes: US Economy, DC Noise, Eurozone & Financial Crisis, 4) ICYMI Tech News.
1) Crypto & Crime, Innovation, Regulation
Kathryn Haun's Journey From Crime Fighter to Crypto
Kathryn Haun left the Justice Department to pursue a career in cryptocurrency. Here's her story. Haun is a general partner with Silicon Valley VC firm Andreessen Horowitz (
a16z.com). Fortune.com video above published Sep 28, 2018.
2) $Esports: the lucrative world of professional video gaming
Big broadcasters such as
Sky and
ESPN and mainstream brands such as
Audi and
Betway.com are getting into
esports in a bid to target a young demographic that increasingly rejects linear TV and traditional forms of advertising. The FT.com's Daniel Garrahan reports. Financial Times (ft.com) video above published Sep 28, 2018.
3) Investing
The Week:
NASDAQ Composite -3.2% |
S&P 500 Index -1.0% |
DJIA -0-
Investing Notes:
a. US economy metric: Americans' credit scores are hitting new record highs
It's not just U.S. stock prices and FICO scores that are hitting new record highs. In the first quarter of 2018, 403 stocks in the S&P 500 delivered earnings higher than Wall Street analysts had forecast,
a new record high that was promptly broken in the second quarter, when 407 stocks achieved that feat--
axios.com.
Yale University, Harvard, and other major endowments have recently reported investment performance for their fiscal years ending in June, and
none have topped the
S&P 500 Index, which returned
14.4% including dividends. Yale returned 12.3%; Harvard University, 10.0%; the University of Pennsylvania, 12.9%; and Dartmouth College, 12.2%--
Barrons.com.
2019: "The S&P 500 hasn’t declined in the year after midterm elections since the 1946 cycle—and has climbed 15% on average—regardless of which party won or lost control of Congress"--
WSJ.com.
Ignore The Noise Coming From Washington--
"Let me be clear on this: I do not think the tariffs on China are going to cause a recession. But if we have a recession, that is precisely what the Democrats will say. Democrats will not run against the Fed, investor sentiment, markets, Italy, or anything else that actually causes the next recession. They will be running against Trump and everything will be his fault. It will be the Trump Trade War Recession. Whether or not it is true is immaterial."--John Mauldin,
Mauldin Economics, Sep 28, 2018.
The U.S. economy grew at a rate of 4.2 percent last quarter, far higher than most thought possible a few years ago. American businesses have added more than 4 million new jobs since President Trump was elected in November 2016.
Unemployment is near record lows.--Wilbur Ross,
CNBC.com.
What Has the Eurozone Learned from the Financial Crisis?--
HBR.org:
"Ten years after the crisis, observers of the U.S. economy are asking whether we learned enough from the 2008 crisis about how to manage risk in the financial system. The Euro area is asking a very different question: whether we have learned enough about monetary and fiscal policy to better manage the next crisis. I am afraid the answer is no."--Antonio Fatás
See also
Mario Draghi Is Preaching In the Desert | Bloomberg.com:
"For all the ECB chief’s efforts, Europe’s full monetary union is as remote as ever."
Brexit: a senior EU diplomat
reportedly said this week the EU would soon propose a “zero tariffs and zero quotas” post-Brexit trade deal for the UK with better terms than the EU's current trade deal with Canada. [
Editor's note: until they actually "put it in writing" it's "just talk." The
UK would be wise to prepare now for a "hard Brexit"--the UK is a net importer from the EU, so the EU has "more to lose" particularly Germany--and start negotiating "trade deals" now with the U.S. and others to become effective March 29, 2019,
23:00 UTC].
EU: Tariff deal with
U.S. not yet even in 'pre-work' stage says EU trade chief--
reuters.com [
Editor's note: those who wait to negotiate late with the Trump administration are making a serious mistake. Trump now has trade deals with key trading partners
South Korea, Mexico, and
Canada, with
Japan likely to follow, and each deal will only harden U.S. positions going forward.
China and
Germany have the most to lose, so both should be 'elbowing' to the front of the line to get a 'sweeter' deal now, versus waiting.]
China: JPMorgan lowered its rating for Chinese stocks to neutral from overweight as
"a full-blown trade war becomes new base case scenario for 2019" and "higher tariffs are squeezing Chinese manufacturing's profit margin, reducing the investment incentive and hiring, which would then drag on consumption via reduced income"--
CNBC.com
Jan. 26, 2018, "will go down in history as the peak for the
global stock market for this cycle."--Jeff Gundlach,
CNBC.com.
8 Major Forces Shaping the Future of the Global Economy--
visualcapitalist.com.
A 'Work of Art': One bottle of The Macallan Valerio Adami 1926, a rare Macallan scotch whisky, sold for a record $1.06 million (£814,081) at Bohhams auction in Edinburgh, Scotland, UK--buyer reportedly was an unnamed private collector in Asia participating by phone--
usatoday.com and
thewhiskyexchange.com.
4) ICYMI Tech News:
- Facebook $FB security breach exposed 50 million accounts to full takeover--reuters.com. See also Irish data watchdog opens investigation into Facebook breach--TheHill.com.
- Apple, Amazon deny Bloomberg report on Chinese hardware attack--reuters.com.
- Tencent (online gaming and WeChat) announces a restructuring as challenges rise--reuters.com.
-- John Poole, Editor, Domain Mondo
feedback & comments via twitter @DomainMondo
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