What's Interesting In Business News: Hedge Funds, Mobile, $GOOGL, Logos, Mary Meeker, $UBER, AQR, Blockchain, $BYND, Plastic Bags, $FB, Social Security, Libra
June 19, 2019 | Volume 13
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Hedge funds invest in takeover targets much more effectively than mutual funds.
This study analyzed institutional trading in the months leading up to an m&a announcement.
Institutional Trading around M&A Announcements
Mobile-only is a smart strategy to launch with. A new video streaming service to compete with Netflix.
Quibi cofounders reveal pricing and launch date for the short-form streaming service
Hey Bloomberg and Refinitiv, sound familiar?
Google Made $4.7 Billion From the News Industry in 2018, Study Says
Morse code, quarters, gradients, dots and more. Interesting to see what is popular amongst designers for new logo designs.
I’ve been studying logos for decades. Here’s what changed this year
Mary Meeker (a VC) released a report on the state of the Internet. Worth a full read. A few items that stuck with me:
Mobile continues to gain share of digital media consumption. Big jump in 2018.
Mobile is bigger than TV now too.
Twitter and Facebook are increasingly the SOURCE of journalist reporting. Important trend to watch.
Uber Copter is here. Manhattan to JFK in 30 min.
Uber Copter to Offer Flights From Lower Manhattan to J.F.K.
Nice write up by AQR on machine learning in finance. ML may not be great for alpha, but still has value in risk management and transaction cost modeling.
Good primer on ML.
Blockchain could seriously revolutionize one of the oldest professions - accounting.
The Imperative for Blockchain Accounting
A NYU professor estimates that the Beyond Meat $BYND stock is worth about $47.
The current price of $140+ requires an investor to believe some very aggressive growth and margin projections.
Can this $100 million revenue company grow to $5-$10 billion in revenues in 10 years with above-industry margins?
Meatless Future or Vegan Delusions? The Beyond Meat Valuation
“Will the entire business of securities analysis institutionally restructure itself to account for this new reality, prizing other facets of a corporate issuer of securities more highly than projected cashflows and balance sheets?”
They tried in 2000.
When Everything That Counts Can’t Be Counted
Plastic bags, paper bags, cotton bags. Seems the debate is not that simple.
Plastic Bag Bans Might Do More Harm Than Good
Facebook is creating a database of “trusted” reporters.
Facebook plans to help news publishers generate revenue
Will social security need to cut payments one day? It’s really a political question.
Social Security's looming crisis is political, not economic
If I was a big US bank, this is exactly how I would respond to Facebook $FB Libra.
Top Democrat calls for Facebook to halt cryptocurrency plans until Congress investigates