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Crypto-assets appear in a revived and refreshed bull market, the analyst writes. Senior Bloomberg Commodity Analyst Mike McGlone weighs in with a very bullish prognosis for crypto-assets in the September edition of Bloomberg’s Crypto Outlook 2021. Considering cryptos such as bitcoin and ethereum are lifting off in the second half of the year from levels…
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Venture Capital: The Indian VC Industry Deployed a Record $10B in 2019 (Report)
2019 was a banner year for the Indian VC industry, says the IVCA-Bain India Venture Capital Report. Investors deployed a record-breaking $10 billion, up 55% from 2018, with deal volume surging 30%. The average deal size rose by 20% in 2019. Further, average deal ticket sizes surged across all stages of investment.
DailyAlts Playbook: What Dalio is Buying, Davey Day Trader Global, and Restarting the Trade War
The Dow shed 200 points this morning, and while I’m usually not overcommitted to what the Dow is doing, I am looking at geopolitical tensions. We’re back into a barking match with China – this time because the White House has blamed its rival for the spread of COVID. That said, Chinese media are now arguing that if the U.S. blocks supplies of semiconductors to tech firm Huawei, China will launch its “unreliable entity list” and “restrict or investigate” companies like Apple, Cisco, and other tech firms.
Digital Assets: Crypto Hedge Funds Doubled Assets under Management in 2019 (Report)
PwC and Elwood Asset Management Services used data from the largest global crypto hedge funds to compile the report.
Assets under management (AUM) at cryptocurrency hedge funds doubled from $1 billion in 2018 to $2 billion in 2019, while average assets under management expanded from $21.9 million to $44 million, said the report. Median AuM increased from US$4.3 million to US$8.2 million.
DailyAlts Playbook: Back to Basics, Druckenmiller’s Warning, More Stimulus, and Activists Do What Activists Do…
I’m back in the saddle today after a two-day break that was sorely needed. The combination of an arthritic flare and stomach issue has put me back at around 50% to 60%.
Three days is when people start to worry, so I appreciate the emails.
I am very excited about the future and what we are building at DailyAlts.com.
Liquid Alternatives: Fed to Launch Corporate Bond ETF Purchases Today
“Fallen angel” corporate bonds that have taken a rating hit may be supported by the corporate bond ETF purchase program envisaged in the Secondary Market Corporate Credit Facility (SMCCF). The facility is scheduled to kick in today. ETFs holding these fallen angels, whose ratings fell from investment grade to speculative or junk grade due to COVID, maybe the earlier targets in the program. The Fed could buy up to $750 billion under the SMCCF, as well as the Primary Market Corporate Credit Facility (PMCCF).
Artificial Intelligence: The AI That Powers Walmart’s Express Delivery
Walmart (NYSE: WMT) has an inventory of 160,000 items offered through its Express Delivery service that launched last month. The service is already on offer at 100 stores in the U.S. as a pilot test and will be extended to 2,000 stores this month. The system relies heavily on AI.
DailyAlts Playbook: Unemployment Woes, Economic Experiments, M&A Woes, and China… China… China.
THE DAILYALTS PLAYBOOK May 8, 2020 DailyAlts Playbook: Unemployment Woes, Economic Experiments, M&A Woes, and China… China… China. OPENING BELL Good morning, Good morning, There is one figure – and one figure only that matters today. And the U.S. Labor Department reported it before the bell. The agency said that the U.S. unemployment rate hit…
Private Equity: Recapping the KKR Q1 Conference Call
The KKR conference call for the first quarter occurred on Wednesday morning. Executives at the firm revealed that although they were stung a little by the economic upheaval, KKR continues to prove its business model.
The company exited some businesses early in the quarter at an average of 3.5 times the initial cost. Although they are working remotely like the rest of us, KKR, in the 2-month window from March 1 through May 1, has closed on or in legal documentation on over $10 billion of new commitments across our fund platform.
Alternative Investments: An Interview With Tobias Carlisle, Founder of Acquirers Funds
This week, Tim Melvin sat down with Tobias Carlisle, founder of The Acquirer’s Multiple®. Tobias Carlisle is best known as the author of the #1 new release in Amazon’s Business and Finance The Acquirer’s Multiple: How the Billionaire Contrarians of Deep Value Beat the Market.
Alternative Investments: An Interview with Jeffrey Chang of CBOE Vest.
Last week, Tim Melvin talked with Jeffrey Chang of CBOE Vest. His firm offers investment strategies called “defined outcome portfolios.”
These strategies help investors structure their portfolios to provide defined levels of growth, income, and risk.
Venture Capital: ApplyBoard, an Edtech Startup, is Canada’s Newly Minted Unicorn
ApplyBoard is an online platform that assists international students from around the world with their applications to study abroad. It’s a SaaS-enabled recruitment platform that was recognized in 2019 by Deloitte as Canada’s fastest-growing tech company.
ApplyBoard scored a phenomenal 12,525% GAAP revenue growth between 2015 and 2018.
On Tuesday it announced the closure of its series C funding round worth C$100 million (US$75 million).
DailyAlts Playbook: Coronavirus, Bond Bulls, an EU Slump, and Expectations for the Job Market
This morning, Johns Hopkins University announced that more than 3.65 million official cases of COVID-19 around the globe. States across the country will reopen their economies this week. Florida has opened restaurants with social distancing guidelines in place. California will permit clothing stores, flower shops, and bookstores to provide curbside pickup. And New York will let construction, manufacturing, and certain retail employees return to work. The official U.S. tally of coronavirus cases topped 1.2 million on Tuesday evening.
Community Banking – Seneca-Cayuga Bancorp To Become a Publicly Traded Stock
As part of the conversion and reorganization, the Bank would become a wholly-owned subsidiary of a new holding company. Shares of common stock of the Company held by persons other than the MHC (whose shares would be canceled) would be converted into shares of common stock of the new holding company pursuant to an exchange ratio generally intended to preserve the percentage ownership interests.
Digital Assets: Bitcoin Rallies as Halving Approaches
With halving now just a week away, is BTC repeating the script from its previous two halvings? On both the two previous occasions, bitcoin enjoyed sharp rallies post the halving event, though, in 2016, there was a dip before the rally commenced.
DailyAlts Playbook: Buffett Ditches Airlines, Wall Street Movies, Black Swans, and Stimulus Estimates.
This morning CNBC is covering the Berkshire Hathaway meeting the same way that ESPN covers the day after “The Last Dance” on ESPN. The big focus is on Buffett’s message “Nothing can basically stop America.” But my two key takeaways – as I assess Buffett’s career and philosophy – center on Berkshire’s decisions during March. My generation is one that looks at Buffett as a nice grandfather who likes to spend time with the family – not the ruthless businessman who was able to get General Electric to pay him 10% in 2008 on top of $3 billion in stock. It’s one of the reasons why people say “You mean the guy getting ice cream with his grandkids in HBO’s Too Big to Fail.”
Liquid Alternatives: Why the Risk-Reward on Grain ETFs Makes Sense
Speaking to Tom Lydon at the Inside ETFs conference, Sal Gilbertie, CEO, Teucrium, observed that agricultural commodities such as grains were an excellent diversifier.
The DailyAlts Playbook: Two Years of COVID? ,The Meb Faber Interview, Amazon’s Coronavirus Shift, and Tesla Tussles…
The coronavirus has now officially affected more than 3.27 million people, with nearly 234,000 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University. Last night, China announced that the Hubei province – where officials first detected COVID-19 – will start to relax its lockdown rules starting tomorrow. The province’s health commission announced Friday that it will decrease its emergency response level to its second-highest grade tomorrow. Elsewhere around the globe, Iran, Russia, and Singapore reported an increase in cases. Meanwhile, in the U.S., major airlines have announced plans to require passengers to start wearing face masks or facial coverings from check-in to departing the plane.
Community Banking: Tinker Federal Credit Will Buy Prime Bank (Oklahoma)
Tinker Federal Credit announced Thursday that it will purchase “substantially all of the assets and operations” of Prime Bank in Edmond, Oklahoma. The target has roughly $285 million in assets, according to a press release.
“We’re excited about the prospect of providing expanded services to TFCU members and to customers of Prime as well,” announced TFCU President and CEO Michael Kloiber.
Alternative Investments: A Conversation with Meb Faber of Cambria Investments
This week, we sat down with Meb Faber of Cambria Investments to discuss his investment approach and how it can help investors miss the massive sell-offs that occur in the stock market. We also discuss his tail risk strategy that uses Treasury Bonds and options to hedge equity portfolios in turbulent times. Meb Faber is the author of seven investment books and the host of The Meb Faber Show Podcast. Cambria Investments offers 11 different Exchange Traded Funds based on Meb’s investment philosophy.
DailyAlts Playbook: Chinese Firms Hit the Exits, Musk’s Rant on “Fascism”, Hedge Fund Returns, and Unemployment Totals
This morning, all eyes are on the U.S. Department of Labor as it reports the latest figure on unemployment benefits across the United States. More than 30 million people are now seeking unemployment benefits across America. The news comes a day after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell warned that we are facing the worst economy in history. Powell said after the two-day FOMC meeting that Americans can expect to see terrible economic data during the second quarter. He also said that the Fed is prepared to provide more liquidity to the market and suggested that small businesses may need additional funding to keep their lights on.
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…
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.
Liquid Alternatives: “ETFs’ Finest Hour” – Dave Nadig
Are stock ETFs a source of risk in the current environment? How did they perform under the weight of enormous flows, both in and out? These and other issues figured in a chat on “The Compound” between ETF Trends CIO and Director of Research Dave Nadig and Barry Ritholtz, Chairman and CIO of Ritholtz Wealth Management.
The DailyAlts Playbook: Incentives for Work, Crude Crushed, Monty Bennett Keeps the Money, and Cuomo’s Collective
We start this morning with Scott Minerd’s take on the V-shaped recovery, unintended consequences of fiscal and monetary policy, and the moral hazard facing our economy.
The CIO of Guggenheim Partners dropped his latest insights in the middle of the night, and they’re quite jarring. If you don’t know Minerd, be sure to read his analysis during the COVID crisis.