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☆ These 2 charts show that investors are more scared of Jerome Powell than they are of Vladimir Putin
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( George Glover | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Stocks plummeted Tuesday – as Vladimir Putin promised to escalate Russia's war in Ukraine. Check out these two charts that show what investors are worried about right now. Two ongoing sagas have rattled markets over the past year: the Federal Reserve's aggressive interest-rate hikes and Russia's war in Ukraine. When the cost of borrowing is higher, stocks struggle because their future cash flows take a hit, chipping away at their overall valuations. That suggests that they're more scared of Jerome Powell than they are of Vladimir Putin.

☆ Elon Musk is working at Tesla for free after receiving his final stock options last month
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( George Glover | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Elon Musk doesn't draw a cash salary from Tesla because he's paid in stock options. He received the final block of options from his 2018 pay package last month, meaning he's now technically working for free. So without a cash salary or stock options, Musk isn't being paid to be Tesla's CEO right now – but don't feel too sorry for him. "The Plan designed and approved by the Board was not a typical pay package intended to compensate the ordinary executive for overseeing the day-to-day operations of a mature company." Read more: Elon Musk's lawyers are making closing arguments in a trial over his $56 billion pay package that could be decided as soon as today

☆ You're a sucker if you trust ChatGPT
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-19 | by ( Matt Turner | Dave Smith | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

But first: Adam Rogers, a senior tech correspondent at Insider, breaks down why ChatGPT is for suckers. Well, social scientists don't really know why anyone believes anything, from kooky stuff they read on Twitter to closely held ideals. Faced with those conditions, Gen Z has adapted to a new normal: When in doubt, find a new job. It has rankled some of the academics and advocates whose work helped kick off the psychedelics renaissance in the first place. Insider spoke to more than a dozen industry participants to chart its rise and its role in the psychedelics boom.

☆ Want to beat the market? Go invest in a secondhand Rolex.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( George Glover | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Secondhand watch prices fell 8%, compared with the S&P 500's 19% drop and bitcoin's 65% crash. Rolex, Patek Philippe and Audemars Piguet are seen by watch lovers as the "Big Three" luxury makers, with a 70% market share. But prices for preowned timepieces fell slightly for all those brands in the last quarter of 2022, Morgan Stanley said. Secondhand Rolex prices slipped 5% over that three-month period, led by losses from the popular Daytona, GMT Master II, and Submariner models. "As these three brands account for around 70% of the secondary watch market, their price decline continued to weigh on the overall market."

☆ Stock market investors need to start worrying about Americans running out of savings, SoFi strategist says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( George Glover | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

That could stop this year's stock market rally in its tracks, according to SoFi's Liz Young. “What the equity market is not pricing in at this point, or is not worried enough about, is consumer spending,” she said Thursday. "I question some of the narrative around us having all these pent-up savings and sitting on these stockpiles of cash," Young said. It also bucks the stock market itself, which has surged at the start of 2023. Read more: The prediction war between stock market bulls and bears is reaching a feverish pitch.

☆ Binance secretly moved $400 million from its US partner to a trading firm managed by the crypto giant's boss CZ, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( George Glover | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Binance secretly moved $400 million from its US partner to a trading firm owned by boss Changpeng Zhao, according to Reuters. Merit Peak is a market-maker trading firm owned by Binance CEO Zhao, who's often referred to by his initials CZ. Binance claims that Merit Peak and Binance's US partner Binance.US operate independently from the global exchange, which CZ co-founded in 2017. The Securities and Exchange Commission has previously probed ties between Binance.US, Merit Peak, and another CZ-owned trading firm called Sigma Chain AG, according to a Wall Street Journal report published in February 2022. It's not clear why the money was sent from Binance.US to Merit Peak or if any of the funds belonged to US customers.

☆ Canaccord Genuity upgrades Generac, says generator builder stock can surge nearly 30%
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Alex Harring | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Generac is heading in the right direction after a bout of underperformance, according to Canaccord Genuity. On Wednesday, Generac reported a beat for quarterly per-share earnings and issued better-than-expected revenue guidance for the year. GNRC 5D mountain GNRC jumped after earnings Gianarikas said that marked the end to a difficult year punctuated by a negative earnings preannouncement in October. Gianarikas said dealer growth is key to fixing inventory levels and getting the company back to revenue growth in the short term. But there's also room for the company to growth, he said, specifically within the clean energy space.

☆ How a family's struggle to help their son gave rise to controversial $400 million psychedelics giant Compass Pathways
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Yeji Jesse Lee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +18 min

Today, Compass Pathways, the for-profit company they launched in 2016, is a Nasdaq-listed firm worth about $400 million. Compass Pathways Show lessIt could also boost the dozens of psychedelics companies inspired by Compass that have been formed in recent years. Insider spoke with more than a dozen industry participants to chart the rise of Compass Pathways and its role in the psychedelics boom. He recalled the 2018 Quartz article that detailed the growing alarm around Compass Pathways' "magic mushroom monopoly." Were it not for his decision to take a break from college, and his parents' efforts to find a treatment, Compass Pathways might not exist.

☆ Markets are kicking off a make-or-break stretch with inflation, jobs, and more Fed policy looming
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( Phil Rosen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Fed Chairman Jerome Powell warned — once again — last week that rates may eventually end up higher than markets anticipate as the fight against inflation remains far from over. Now, ahead of the CPI report, let's check in with the outlook for stocks. To Bernstein strategist Matthew Palazzolo, today's inflation reading will kick off a momentous five-week stretch for equities. The jobs report on March 3, the next inflation report on March 14, and the Fed meeting on March 22 will shape the rest of the year for stocks, he explained to my colleague George Glover. Your best bet for where the stock market's going this year can be found in the two-year Treasury yield, according to Mohamed El-Erian.

☆ George Soros' fund snapped up Tesla stock, boosting its stake by nearly 50% as Elon Musk's Twitter antics weighed on the automaker's shares
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( George Glover | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Billionaire investor George Soros's family office loaded up on Tesla stock in the last quarter of 2022. Soros Fund Management grew its stake in the EV maker by nearly 50%, a SEC filing showed this week. Concerns about CEO Elon Musk's fueled a Q4 selloff in Tesla, but its share price has risen 58% in 2023. Soros Fund Management bought about 42,000 Tesla shares in the three months ending December 31, lifting its stake by 47% to around 132,000 shares, according to a 13F filing published Monday. Soros Fund Management also snapped up 500,000 call options on ARK's Innovation ETF – the Cathie Wood-managed fund that tumbled in 2022 but lists Tesla as its biggest holding.

☆ The worst is over for stocks but the bull market is 'stuck in traffic', Wells Fargo says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( George Glover | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

US stocks have rebounded in 2023, with the benchmark S&P 500 advancing almost 8%. "We see neither a bull nor a bear market, just a market," analysts said. "We see neither a bull nor a bear market, just a market," a team of analysts led by Chris Harvey wrote in a Monday research note titled "Bear Exits, but Bull Stuck in Traffic". Wells Fargo pointed to a narrowing in investment-grade credit spreads as one sign that the bear market is coming to an end. Read more: Stocks are back in a bull market as global economic outlook is improving, says market veteran Ed Yardeni

HONG KONG, Feb 8 (Reuters) - The world should "calm down" about the possibility of new COVID-19 variants circulating in China, leading Chinese scientist George Gao said. "The world should completely calm down from the fear that there are new variants or special variants circulating (in China)," Gao, professor at the Institute of Microbiology at the Chinese Academy of Sciences and former head of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), told Reuters. The variants causing infections in China were the same Omicron sub-variants - BA.5.2 and BF.7 - seen elsewhere in the world, he said by email. Gao said China was continuing widespread viral genomic sequencing, and would identify any new variants if they emerged. A total of 13 cases of variants were found, including 1 case of XBB.1, 5 cases of BQ.1.1, 1 case of BQ.1.1.17, 4 cases of BQ.1.2 and 2 cases of BQ.1.8.

HONG KONG, Feb 8 (Reuters) - The world should "calm down" about the possibility of new COVID-19 variants circulating in China, leading Chinese scientist George Gao said. "The world should completely calm down from the fear that there are new variants or special variants circulating [in China]," Gao, professor at the Institute of Microbiology at the Chinese Academy of Sciences and former head of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), told Reuters. The variants causing infections in China were the same Omicron sub-variants - BA.5.2 and BF.7 - seen elsewhere in the world, he said by email. Gao said China was continuing widespread viral genomic sequencing, and would identify any new variants if they emerged. The authors said there were some limitations to the study, including China's decision to end large-scale mandatory testing.

☆ Tom Brady's team was convinced they were looking at 'legit financials' when they first piled into FTX, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( George Glover | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Tom Brady and Gisele Bündchen's advisors "saw what they believed were legit financials" when they invested in FTX, per the Financial Times. The then-couple owned 1.8 million shares in FTX between them, bankruptcy filings show. There was some FOMO, but people always saw financials," the source said. Crypto exchange FTX filed for bankruptcy in November after suffering a solvency crisis linked to a selloff in its native FTT token. Read more: FTX bankruptcy documents show list of investors set to be completely wiped out, including Tom Brady and Robert Kraft

☆ Tesla's stock is getting trounced by EV challenger Lucid, which is leading techs' 2023 rally thanks to Saudi takeover rumors
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( George Glover | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Shares in electric-vehicle manufacturer Lucid Motors have jumped 69% in 2023. Speculation of a takeover by Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund has fueled Lucid's recent rally. Lucid is even beating rival EV manufacturer Tesla, which is up just under 60% so far this year at $196.81, despite analysts' fears. Lucid shares have also risen thanks to rumors of a looming takeover by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, which invests on behalf of the government and already owns over 60% of the carmaker. The stock jumped 43% on January 27 alone, after the deals website Betaville reported the Saudi PIF could be close to finalizing a full takeover.

☆ Here's how tech giants Microsoft, Google, and Baidu are dealing with ChatGPT, and what that could mean for investors
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( George Glover | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

ChatGPT's viral success has caught the eye of big tech companies and investors. Microsoft is working to integrate the bot into its search engine, while Google is scrambling for alternatives. Major tech names like Microsoft, Google parent Alphabet, and Chinese tech giant Baidu have all taken steps in recent weeks to show they're trying to harness the technology underpinning OpenAI's ChatGPT. BaiduChinese search giant Baidu is also working on developing a rival to ChatGPT to use in its services. But analysts generally expect Baidu's bounce to prove short-lived – because so many of its competitors, including Microsoft and Google, are working on similar AI programs.

☆ The odds of the US slipping into recession are now just 25% thanks to a surge in jobs, Goldman Sachs says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( George Glover | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

There's now just a 25% chance the US suffers a recession within 12 months, Goldman Sachs said Monday. "We have cut our subjective probability that the US economy will enter a recession in the next 12 months from 35% to 25%," said strategists led by Jan Hatzius, Goldman Sachs chief economist. Inflation has fallen for six months in a row to 6.5% as of December, which has boosted the chances that the US economy staves off a recession, the Goldman Sachs team said. "Progress on price inflation has been particularly rapid in recent months," the strategists said. Goldman Sachs' latest prediction chimes with recent comments from the International Monetary Fund's managing director.

☆ Adani says it will repay over $1 billion in debt ahead of schedule in a bid to halt stock-market rout
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( George Glover | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Embattled Indian conglomerate Adani Group is paying back $1.1 billion in debt ahead of schedule. It's scrambling to halt a stocks rout that's wiped out over $110 billion in market value over the past fortnight. The selloff came after US short-seller Hindenburg Research accused the group of market manipulation and fraud. The borrowings were backed by Adani Ports, Adani Green Energy, and Adani Transmission – three of the group's companies that have seen their share prices plummet over the past fortnight. Adani said it had paid off its debt ahead of schedule "in light of recent market volatility and in continuation of the promoters' commitment to reduce the overall promoter leverage backed by Adani Listed Company shares."

☆ The European Central Bank has raised interest rates for the 5th time in a row, sticking to its inflation fight
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( George Glover | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

The European Central Bank hiked its deposit rate by 50 basis points Thursday as it keeps battling inflation. The ECB is battling soaring inflation in Europe driven in part by Russia's war in Ukraine. The ECB's governing council hiked its main deposit rate by 50 basis points, or 0.5 percentage points, taking it to 2.5%. Policymakers started hiking interest rates from a record low of -0.5% in July, lifting the cost of borrowing for the first time in 11 years. "Accordingly, the Governing Council today decided to raise the three key ECB interest rates by 50 basis points and it expects to raise them further."

☆ Cheeseburgers and steaks could be about to get a lot more expensive after US beef cow numbers slumped
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( George Glover | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

The US cow population fell 3% last year while beef cows decreased to their lowest level since 1962, according to the Department of Agriculture. The total cow population in the country fell 3% to 89.3 million in 2022, according to a Department of Agriculture cattle inventory report published Tuesday. The number of milk cows rose slightly but beef cows plunged 4% to just under 29 million – the lowest total since records started in 1962. The fall in US cow numbers will likely be felt in diners and kitchens, with lower beef supplies encouraging farmers to raise prices and those then being passed on to Americans buying burgers or steaks. "What Tuesday's report solidifies is that not only do we have 'fewer' beef cows in the industry than compared to years past, but also that we have the fewest beef cows ever recorded," DTN livestock analyst ShayLe Stewart said.

☆ Investors are hooked on the 'heroin' of Fed rate cuts but the focus will turn to earnings gloom, Morgan Stanley's top strategist says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( George Glover | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The Federal Reserve's not going to start cutting interest rates soon, Morgan Stanley's top strategist said. When investors realize that, the focus will shift to the weakness in earnings, Mike Wilson told CNBC. But with once-soaring prices starting to cool, many investors now expect the Fed to start cutting rates by the end of 2023. But many strategists have put the gains down to investors' blindly focusing on hypothetical Fed rate cuts while ignoring other factors, such as earnings. "The Fed will be part of that story, but I think it'll be cutting rates long after the market has bottomed."

☆ Twitter just made its first interest payment on Elon Musk's massive buyout debt – so it will avoid bankruptcy for now
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( George Glover | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Elon Musk borrowed $12.5 billion from banks including Morgan Stanley to take the social-media company private in October. Repaying the first instalment is a sign that Twitter won't have to file for bankruptcy. Musk bought Twitter for $44 billion in October, borrowing $12.5 billion from banks including Morgan Stanley, Bank of America, and Barclays. If Twitter had failed to make the first interest payment, its management could have chosen to explore filing for bankruptcy as part of a debt restructuring process. Read more: Elon Musk has to make the first interest payment on the $13 billion debt he took on to buy Twitter – and the company's dire financial situation means it faces risks including bankruptcy

☆ I asked ChatGPT investors' burning questions – and a CIO told me why the bot won't be challenging Wall Street's top stock-pickers anytime soon
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-28 | by ( George Glover | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

I asked ChatGPT questions about markets and showed the answers to Morningstar Investment Management CIO Dan Kemp. He called some of its knowledge "remarkable" – but isn't worried it'll put top strategists out of their jobs anytime soon. "It provides answers, but it doesn't ask questions like a good investment manager," Kemp said. Kemp told me he was impressed with the breadth of the bot's knowledge – especially its ability to avoid unnecessary jargon when producing stock market content. "It's an interesting mistake and it's one that lots of investors made last year – not every high risk comes with a high reward."

☆ Investors don't listen to Elon Musk on the economy, Tesla bull Gary Black says as he rebukes recession claims
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( George Glover | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Any economic downturn will be shallow because the Federal Reserve can cut interest rates whenever it wants, Black said Thursday. "I don't think investors listen to Elon's economic forecasts," the Future Fund managing partner told Yahoo Finance Thursday. Musk alluded to the idea of a severe recession on Tesla's fourth-quarter earnings call, which took place after Wednesday's bell. He said a downturn could actually help the Tesla's stock price because it would be disinflationary – helping to reduce the company's input costs. Tesla stock rallied just under 11% Thursday after the company beat Wall Street's fourth-quarter earnings targets.

☆ Bill Ackman says he finds short-seller's Adani Group report 'highly credible' – and notes similarities to 'pyramid scheme' Herbalife
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( George Glover | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Hindenburg Research accused India's Adani Group of "brazen stock manipulation" in report published this week. Pershing Square CEO Bill Ackman said he found the short-seller's report "highly credible and extremely well researched". Adani Group had inflated its own valuation by manipulating the stock market and committing accounting fraud, the report had said. "I found the Hindenburg report highly credible and extremely well researched," Pershing Square Capital Management CEO Ackman aid on Twitter late Thursday. Ackman also compared Adani Group to Herbalife – the multi-level marketing company that Pershing Square unsuccessfully shorted between 2012 and 2017 in one of the billionaire investor's biggest-ever losses.

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