Eq: Tech
(New York)
Most bitcoin investors know it, but few else do: the bitcoin industry is ultra energy intensive as bitcoin mining takes mountains of electricity. Because of this, the surge in interest in ESG is casting a pall over the bitcoin frenzy. One research analyst summarized the situation very nicely, saying “Many companies have cozied up to Bitcoin in order to associate themselves with the digital currency’s technological mystique … As ESG funds start to flee Bitcoin, its price will begin a downward spiral. Stay away”.
FINSUM: This makes absolute sense. Bitcoin is highly energy inefficient, and therefore the combination of ESG considerations and likely government regulations make bitcoin look quite unattractive over the long term.
(New York)
The market had eagerly awaited Fed Testimony before Congress on Tuesday as investors wanted clarity on rising inflation concerns, but it appears investors...see the full story on our partner Magnifi's site
(New York)
Goldman Sachs is entering the ESG market as it plans to sell bonds to finance greener projects this week. This is part of the firm's broader attempts to provide funds to socially conscious investments. In fact GS plans to issue $750 billion in credit by 2030 to this trending area of finance. CEO of Golman Sachs Bank Carey Halio said to expect a steady stream of issuance in ESG, but the size of these initiatives will grow slowly over time. Goldman is just the latest to jump into this segment of the market. Investors may also have the opportunity to invest in alternative currencies in the future as Goldman has indicated a similar rollout could happen in the euro area. GS is just the latest of financial firms moving into the growing ESG arena. Bank of America, Citigroup and Morgan Stanley helped contribute the $118 billion growth in ESG last year.
FINSUM: Financial firms involvement in ESG will only continue as many of these companies will find helpful policies with the new administration.
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(New York)
If you were to design a tailwind for the robotics sector, what would it look like. Perhaps a pandemic…Read the full story here on our partner Magnifi’s site.
(New York)
Thematic ETFs have been one of the market’s bright spots over the last couple of years. For evidence of this…Read the full story here on our partner Magnifi’s site.
(New York)
A few weeks ago we ran a story about Apple planning for its own-branded car. At the time, most analysts thought Apple would wait until self-driving cars became a mainstream reality before doing so—which made it seem like it would be 5 years or so. Well, in what comes as a major announcement, Apple is close to finalizing a deal with Kia to produce a branded Apple car for them in the US. Morgan Stanley analyst Katie Huberty explained why this is so exciting in just four short sentences: “Smartphones are a $500bn annual TAM. Apple has about one-third of this market. The mobility market is $10 trillion. So Apple would only need a 2% share of this market to be the size of their iPhone business”.
FINSUM: Apple is not only the world’s biggest player in smart phones, but it has a fiercely loyal follower base. It is hard to imagine the company would not get to 2% market share in mobility within 3 years at the most. This is the kind of announcement that could propel Apple on a big run for the next few years.