Investments
Types of investments
Top Story
Chipmaker AMD (NASDAQ: AMD) has unveiled a range of innovative AI solutions spanning from data centers to personal computers. The AMD Instinct MI300 Series features data center AI accelerators, while the ROCm 6 open software stack introduces new features supporting Large Language Models (LLMs). Additionally, the Ryzen 8040 Series processors come equipped with Ryzen AI capabilities.
Get Daily Updates
Subscribe to DailyAlts Today to get Alternative Investment news, insight, and commentary delivered straight to your inbox every day.
More Stories on Investments
Venture Capital: A Partnership to Promote Innovation in Canadian AgTech
Bioenterprise and Farm Credit Canada (FCC) entered a 15-month agreement in January to promote growth and innovation in Canadian agri-businesses.
ESG: Northern Trust and IdealRatings Tie Up to Offer ESG Analytics to Institutions
Northern Trust (NASDAQ: NTRS) will now provide institutional investors with added insights, analysis, and transparency into their ESG exposures. Northern Trust will combine its substantial database of global custody asset information with data from information services provider IdealRatings and issue the ESG Analytics Summary.
Digital Assets: Nasdaq and R3 Collaborate to Offer Blockchain-based Digital Marketplaces
US exchange operator Nasdaq, which embraced the blockchain as early as 2010, has tied up with R3 for building full lifecycle solutions for digital assets market places. Nasdaq will utilize R3’s enterprise blockchain software Corda, and its professional services and support for the purpose.
FinTech: COVID or Not, Fintechs are Flourishing
Interviews at financial services firms are up 39% since January 1, according to data from HackerRank quoted by Crunchbase. Even in the depths of the coronavirus crisis, fintech Stripe managed to raise an additional $600 million, garnering a better valuation to boot. SoFi went shopping to bag Galileo for $1.2 billion earlier this month. The SBA allowed fintechs to make loans under its Paycheck Protection Program. What’s working for fintechs?
Artificial Intelligence: The Compelling Case for an AI Stimulus Package – Tony Samp
An opinion piece in the Business Insider by Tony Samp argues in favor of a significant stimulus injection into the American AI sector. The stimulus would help in the post-COVID recovery and also deliver strategic advantages in the future.
REITs: Green Street Warns COVID-19 Will Eliminate Half of Malls
The COVID-19 pandemic could mean the end of the line for many malls around the United States. Green Street Advisors, one of the best real estate and REIT research and investment firms in the country, says that more than half of all the department store anchored malls could be closed by the end of 2021. More than 60% of the anchor tenant space in these malls will likely empty by then as well.
Hedge Funds: Bill Ackman Calls on U.S. Government to “Be Like Buffett”
Pershing Square Capital founder Bill Ackman encouraged the U.S. government to approach bailouts the same way that Warren Buffett would. On a podcast, Ackman said that emulating the Oracle of Omaha would ensure that the government received favorable terms for taxpayer capital.
Digital Assets: Hong Kong’s SFC Greenlights Arrano’s Bitcoin-tracking Fund
Founded in 2019, Arrano Capital is the blockchain arm of Venture Smart Asia Limited. On April 20, Venture Smart Asia got the approval from the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission to launch the territory’s first regulated virtual-assets fund. The approval let Arrano Capital set up its bitcoin tracking fund, one that could invest 100% in virtual assets.
Venture Capital: COVID-19 and Startupland – “Fasten Seatbelts” or“Brace for Impact?”
Startup Ecosystem Faces Capital Crunch over Coming Months
FinTech: FIS Flags Off $150M Fintech-focused Venture Fund With Flutterwave
FIS, the financial technology company, has established a venture arm. Known as FIS Ventures, the new unit has the mandate to invest across the world in fintech startups. The primary investing focus will be on early to growth-stage firms with a target to deploy $150 million within three years.
Artificial Intelligence: AI Could Help Realize the Holy Grail of Nuclear Fusion
Scientists have been grappling with the complexities surrounding the development of a thermonuclear fusion reactor for decades. A successfully working fusion reactor could provide nearly unlimited energy. Nuclear fusion occurs naturally in the sun, but the problem is reproducing the process in the dramatically different conditions of temperature and gravity here on earth. But machine learning may change all that.
DailyAlts Playbook: Icahn’s Victory Lap, An Opening Worth Celebrating, The Fed Talks, and the End of Mergers as We Know It.
THE DAILYALTS PLAYBOOK April 29, 2020 DailyAlts Playbook: Icahn’s Victory Lap, An Opening Worth Celebrating, The Fed Talks, and the End of Mergers as We Know It. PRIME OVERVIEW Good morning, There is a plan. No, not the Federal Reserve. No, not from the White House. Major League Baseball is considering a plan that would…
Liquid Alternatives: Corona Spawns a Scarily-named ‘Biothreat’ ETF Theme
Somebody had to ride the trend. On April 21, ETF distributor Pacer Financial filed with the SEC to launch its Pacer BioThreat ETF, with the highly expressive ticker of VIRS. (FINANCIAL ADVISOR)
On April 24, ETF Managers Trust filed with the SEC for its ETFMG BIO ETF.
These are ‘biothreat’ themed ETFs are obviously trying to ride the trend of the coronavirus pandemic.
Alternative Investments: Warren, Ocasio-Cortez Move to Stop M&A Activity During COVID-19 Pandemic
Two prominent Democrats are moving to pass the Pandemic Anti-Monopoly Act, legislation to stop mergers while the U.S. deals with COVID-19. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Representative Alexandria Ocasio Cortez are pushing the bill. This new bill would place a moratorium on all mergers reported to the FTC. It would also stop any deals involving firms with more than $100 million or engaged in private equity.
Digital Assets: Which of Debt, Equity, or Digital is Best to Hold in a Recession?
Whereas the value of stocks and bonds has declined due to the coronavirus pandemic, digital assets have not fundamentally lost value, says Jeff Dorman, chief investment officer at Arca. Further, investors are beginning to think more about the “return of capital” than “return on capital,” writes Dorman in an article titled “Digital Assets Are More Recession-Proof Than You Might Think.”
Liquid Alternatives: “It Should Go To Zero Faster Than It Did Last Time” – Jim Cramer on Crude Oil and USO
On Monday, the United States Oil Fund (NYSEARCA: USO) fell nearly 15% to close at $2.19. Weighing on the ETF was the latest announcement from USCF, the fund’s administrator, that the fund will close out its positions in the June WTIC futures contract, and roll them over to longer-dated contracts.
Liquid Alternatives: BNY Mellon Launches Five New ETFs at Low or Zero Fees
BNY Mellon has a 30-year track record in indexation and industry leadership in ETF sub-advisory services. Its index team currently manages $340bn for institutional and retail clients globally. As of April 16, it had $1.8 trillion in AUM. On Friday it rolled out five new ETFs listed on the NYSEARCA exchange.
Artificial Intelligence: Medical AI in A Real-World Setting is Very Different from a Lab – Google
When Google conducted field trials of its AI system for diabetic retinopathy in Thailand, the results were an eye-opener. The first study of its kind, it evaluated how nurses use an AI system to screen patients for the disease. While lab results were highly accurate, the system encountered a lot of difficulties in real-life testing.
FinTech: Credibly Approved for PPP Lending; Facilitates $500M Relief
Credibly announced Monday that it had facilitated $500 million in relief funding to SMBs after it was approved by the Small Business Administration (SBA) for PPP lending. Credibly moved fast when the second tranche of PPP forgivable loans of $310 billion was released by the government on Monday at 10:30 am EST. It processed more than 10,000 PPP applications aggregating over $500 million in requested funding.
Venture Capital: AbleTo, the Virtual Mental Health Provider is in Play
Optum, the technology services division of UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH) may acquire virtual behavioral telehealthcare provider AbleTo for $470 million. According to CNBC, which quoted informed sources, the deal talks are in an advanced stage.
DailyAlts Playbook: Gundlach Shorts, Technical Wizards, Germany’s Economy, PE Lobbying, and the Lakers Take a Loan…
The Federal Reserve will kick off its two-day meeting to discuss monetary policy in the wake of the history coronavirus outbreak. The Fed has taken extraordinary steps to stimulate the U.S. economy, including slashing interest rates to zero and buying junk bonds. The central bank will likely not announce any new plans until it has further information on the state of the American economy. The economy, which could face levels of unemployment we haven’t seen in more than 80 years, could take more than 18 months to recover. However, we could see some sectors fail to return to their pre-COVID strengths.
Digital Assets: IBM Creates Blockchain Platform to Onboard New Suppliers for COVID-19
As the coronavirus pandemic rolls across the globe it has created a severe shortage of supplies such as masks, gowns, sanitizers, test kits, gloves, ventilators, thermal scanners, consumables, and medicines. The huge unmet demand has attracted many new suppliers who have shifted from their usual line of business to make and/or supply these products for COVID-19. IBM (NYSE: IBM) has established a blockchain-based platform to bring these new suppliers and COVID-19 buyers together.
Alternative Investments: Institutions Spend At Least $3 Million in COVID Lobbying
CNBC examined a number of records tied to lobbying efforts. Reporters suggested that the firms were not attempting to obtain capital for the private equity industry. Instead, the firms aimed to ensure participation among portfolio companies in federal loan programs. Blackstone CEO Steve Schwarzman participated in a phone call with President Trump and Vice President Mike Pence. Other established investors taking place on that call included Dan Loeb of Third Point, Intercontinental Exchange’s Jeffrey Sprecher, and Paul Tudor Jones.
FinTech: App Purchase Revenues +22%, Digital Banking +17% as COVID Strikes
Home-bound Americans stepped up in-app purchases during COVID-19, says a report.
Digital banking apps saw a surge in revenue of 17% over the past two weeks. Digital banking app downloads shot up 60% as more and more U.S. citizens resorted to online banking. The social distancing norms and lockdowns discouraged Americans from visiting banks’ physical branches, according to a study by mobile attribution and marketing analytics firm AppsFlyer.