Covid-19: Buhari approves N6.45 billion to set up 38 oxygen production plants
FG says Excess Crude Account balance now stands at $72.4 million
President Biden directs international air travelers must quarantine upon arrival
FG launches N900 million E-Ticketing platform for Abuja-Kaduna railway
FG commences mop-up verification exercise for ex-workers of Nigeria Airways Limited
Nigeria records $4.3 billion in Corporate Deals in 2020
CDC Group pledges $1 billion investment in Nigeria and other African countries
Buhari orders MDAs to grant FIRS access to their systems
Commercial Banks are still a major competition to Mortgage Banks in Nigeria
Ex-Real Madrid Striker, David Barral becomes first-ever footballer to be bought with Bitcoin
Market Views
Apple market capitalization nears $2 trillion, as Apple’s CEO becomes a billionaire
Tim Cook has now joined the elite club of CEOs who didn’t actually create companies they run.
Almost a decade after Apple’s founder Steve Jobs stepped down and passed the leadership baton to Tim Cook, the new CEO has been leading the world’s most valuable company to astronomical highs.
Last week, the tech firm’s share price gained almost 5% last week. This has caused Apple (which Jobs co-founded about five decades ago at his parents’ California home) to reach a milestone market value of nearly $2 trillion. As at the time Jobs died, the company’s market valuation was around $350 billion.
Meanwhile, Apple’s current CEO, Tim Cook has now joined one of the most elite clubs for CEOs who didn’t actually create companies they run. His net worth has now reached $1 billion, according to calculations by the Bloomberg billionaires index.
Cook’s net worth estimates are calculated on analysis of regulatory filings and apply the market performance of a typical wealthy investor to his proceeds from share sales.
Why is Apple’s valuation surging?
The era of high quantitative easing in 2020 has helped global stock traders raise funds, for placing more bets in growth stocks like Apple, thereby resulting in their astronomical rise in valuations in spite of COVID-19. These companies also have good macros in their businesses, partly due to low debts, high-profit margins, and the fact that more people are isolated and mostly working remotely on their iPhones and Macbooks.
Cook, 59, disclosed five years ago that he plans to give most of his fortune away. Already, he has gifted millions of dollars’ worth of Apple shares. His wealth could be lower if he has made other undisclosed charitable gifts.
“This tech cycle has been way bigger and longer than I thought,” said Hussein Kanji, a partner at venture capital firm Hoxton Ventures who had expressed caution about Apple’s long-term outlook after Jobs left the company. “Out of all these stocks, Apple has become the greatest cash generation machine in history.”
Recall that about two weeks ago, Nairametrics reported about how Apple recorded a major feat recently by becoming the biggest publicly listed company in the world. This feat was recorded when Apple’s shares gained over 10% to a record high on Friday after reporting impressive quarterly results.
Market Views
Netflix gains 17% after beating investors expectation
Netflix for the first time ever passed the 200 million subscriber mark and had an impressive reserve of $8.2 billion in cash.
Netflix’s share price bounced about 17% higher after it beat market expectation, powering the video streaming stock to close high after adding more customers than expected and revealed it no longer needs debt in building its entertainment empire.
The positive upbeat guidance on free cash prompted bullish remarks from Wall Street analysts, though some questioned how much of the subscriber growth was pulled forward.
Stock traders increased their buying pressure on Netflix stock because of the surprisingly strong growth, as well as news that Netflix balance sheets are solid enough for Netflix considering share buybacks. Shares jumped 17% percent to $586.34 in recent trading Wednesday.
Netflix for the first time ever passed the 200 million subscriber mark and had an impressive reserve of $8.2 billion in cash.
READ: Netflix, Amazon, Zoom, Shopify drop over 10%
COVID-19 pandemic has aided Netflix’s business, forcing people in spending more time indoors coupled with curbing other traditional entertainment options like movie theaters and concerts.
Netflix added 25.9 million customers in H1, 2020, and ended up adding 36.6 million customers in all – a record.
“Investors come out of the fourth quarter incrementally more bullish on the potential of a powerful developing shareholder return story for Netflix in the coming years,” Evercore ISI analyst, Lee Horowitz wrote in a note to Bloomberg News.
READ: McCaleb, co-founder of Ripple sells 28.6 million XRP
Analysts at J.P. Morgan Securities said the company is likely to begin share buybacks in the second half of the year.
Quick fact: Netflix is an American streaming company that allows subscribers to watch movies, documentaries, different popular TV shows, and many more through internet-connected hardwires.
Stephen Innes, Chief Global Market Strategist at Axi in a note to Nairametrics also spoke on the impressive gains sighted in the $259 Billion valued company;
“Earnings reports also underpinned equity sentiment. Netflix rose 16% after noting its subscriber numbers increased by a record 37 million in 2020. Serenely, it seems lockdowns and TV go hand in hand.
READ: Nigeria leads the world in Bitcoin searches on Google
“A testament to the maximum policy overdrive, investors wasted little time getting their feet wet after Janet Yellen espoused by the Biden “go big” policy approach to repair the economic damage caused by the pandemic, which also highlights the importance of helping small businesses and the unemployed.”
What to expect: The Stock market is seeing through longer lockdowns on the premise that COVID vaccinations will lead us out of the pandemic quickly and had helped triggered significant buying pressure on stocks like Netflix taking advantage of reduced social mobility in play
Cryptocurrency
World’s biggest asset manager provides Bitcoin to clients
The world’s largest asset manager BlackRock Inc is adding bitcoin futures as an eligible investment asset class.
The world’s largest asset manager, BlackRock Inc is adding bitcoin futures as an eligible investment asset class according to a recent filing by the leading asset management company in a move to bring crypto to its customers.
BlackRock, in a report credited to Reuters disclosed that it was using such asset class as bitcoin derivatives for its two funds namely; BlackRock Global Allocation Fund and BlackRock Strategic Income Opportunities.
Such funds listed above will invest only in cash-settled bitcoin futures traded on commodity exchanges registered with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the company said in a filing to the Securities and Exchange Commission yesterday.
Recall some weeks ago, BlackRock CEO, Larry Fink had disclosed, the flagship crypto is on his company’s radar amid the rapid gains recorded by Bitcoin this year alone.
Speaking recently at the Council on Foreign Relations alongside Mark Carney, former Governor of the Bank of England, Fink said, “Bitcoin has caught the attention and the imagination of many people. Still untested, pretty small relative to other markets.”
- BlackRock is the world’s biggest asset manager with about $7.4 trillion in assets under management as of the end of Q4 2019.
- Its massive size allows it to do what no other asset management on planet earth can do.
Upshot
Also, the BlackRock CIO of Fixed Income buttressed his bias, on why Cryptos are here to stay, taking into account its role in payments among the world’s millennials.
“I think cryptocurrency is here to stay and I think it is durable and you’ve seen the central banks that have talked about digital currencies. I think digital currency and the receptivity, particularly millennials’ receptivity to technology and cryptocurrency is real. Digital payments systems are real, so I think Bitcoin is here to stay,” he said.
Market Views
Bitcoin, Gold, leading Stocks tumble on strong U.S dollar
The U.S dollar index gained 0.6% on the day to settle at 90.77.
The dollar was fired up at the last trading session of the week crushing its major currency rivals, Bitcoin, Gold, and leading global Stocks.
The U.S dollar retained its safe-haven status on the account of the U.S Dollar Index settled remarkably higher than a basket of six other global major currencies.
The U.S dollar index gained 0.6% on the day to settle at 90.77.
READ: U.S Central Bank leader says no rush into crypto dollar
What this means
Investors are piling to the U.S dollar after receiving worrying U.S economic data. Retail sales in the world’s largest economy were off 0.7% last month, the third straight drop.
- Such upsides seen in the greenback’s value saw gold at the expense of a charging dollar whose strength astonished metal traders, saw gold futures losing as much as 1.16% to settle at 1,829.90/ounce
- Also at press time the flagship crypto asset, Bitcoin traded at $35,756.99 with a daily trading volume of $70 Billion.
- Bitcoin is down 7.38% for the day.
READ: Google, Facebook, Twitter stocks drop, investors ponder if big techs have become too powerful
Also, the world’s biggest stock market by market volume and liquidity suffered heavy losses, as data showed the Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged by 0.57% to settle at 30,814.26 index points, the S&P 500 lost about 0.72% to settle at 3,768.25 and the Nasdaq Composite fell by 0.87% to close at 12,998.50 index points.
The greenback was an outlier at the last trading session despite drops seen in U.S bond yields associated with the benchmark 10-year U.S. note, whose resurgence in the previous week had been the catalyst for the U.S dollar comeback.
READ: Gold on a grand slam win, gains $40 per ounce
What they are saying
Milan Cutkovic, Market Analyst at Axi, in an explanatory note to Nairametrics, spoke on fundamentals supporting the rebound of the U.S dollar;
- “Many investors continue to stand on the side lines. President-elect Joe Biden unveiled his US$1.9 trillion stimulus plan. There were no major surprises, and a lot of it was already priced in.
- “Investors are now focused on how quickly the Biden administration can implement their plans and support the ailing US economy. Although Biden will be inaugurated on Wednesday, the second impeachment of Donald Trump might overshadow the first few weeks of his term.
- “Investors are also increasingly confronted with the reality that the pandemic is still far from being under control, despite the significant progress that was made in the past few months, and several COVID-19 vaccines already on the market.”
READ: Silver surpasses three-week high, joins Bullish momentum
Bottom line
Investors are increasingly confronted with the reality that the pandemic is still far from being under control, thereby flocking back to the safe-haven currency despite the significant progress that was made in the past few months, and several COVID-19 vaccines already on the market.
