Elon Musk’s Twitter Ego Could Destroy Tesla
Elon Musk, the founder, chief executive officer, and former chairman of Tesla Inc. (NasdaqGS:TSLA), is in trouble with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)…
Again.
This time, he’s in hot water for doing what he agreed not to do in the September 2018 settlement he made with the SEC over his infamous August 2018 “Am considering taking Tesla private at $420. Funding secured” tweet.
What happened this time and what led up to it isn’t just a problem for Musk, it’s a problem for Tesla.
Elon Musk and Jussie Smollett Have the Same Problem
Poor Elon Musk, he just can’t get enough attention. Apparently, Jussie Smollett has the same problem.
Good thing for one of them there’s a difference between them.
In terms of their crimes, in Smollett’s case the wrongdoing is alleged, while in Musk’s case he signed his own admission.
I’m not interested in Jussie Smollett’s big part on a waning show on the small screen or his small life off-screen and his desire to be on TMZ, which turned into national news.
But I am very interested to see if the TMZ-lite of Wall Street, the SEC, slaps Elon Musk on the wrist again for his latest crime – or does its job properly, once and for all.
You can follow the Smollett saga on TV (be careful what you wish for, Jussie).
But you’re not going to get the “inside edition” of what’s happening with Tesla Inc. (NasdaqGS:TSLA), what could happen to Musk, and how you can make money on the situation anywhere…
Except for right here at Wall Street Insights & Indictments.
What the New JPMorgan Cryptocurrency Means for the Price of Bitcoin
The price of bitcoin rose 8.6% from the end of last week to yesterday, February 18, on news that JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) was launching the first-ever major bank-backed cryptocurrency, JPM Coins.
Apparently, after Jamie Dimon, JPMorgan Chase’s chairman and CEO, called bitcoin a “fraud,” saying in October 2017, “If you’re stupid enough to buy it, you’ll pay the price for it one day,” the big bank honcho has had second thoughts.
Something changed for Dimon and JPMorgan Chase, and today I’ll tell you what a bank coming to market with its own coin means for bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies – and it isn’t what you think.
Europe’s Canary in the Coal Mine is About to Croak
Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft (NYSE:DB)’s “troubles” aren’t just a concern for the survival of Germany’s largest bank; they’re the same troubles most European banks face.
Frighteningly, those troubles collectively threaten the future of the European Union and, by extension, global markets.
That makes Deutsche Bank Europe’s canary in the coal mine.
Bond and equity markets better be listening to the chirping noise coming from Frankfurt, because it’s getting louder.
Let’s talk about what’s ailing Deutsche Bank and what DB tells us about other European banks. Then we’ll get into how the European Central Bank (ECB) is the common thread in their flawed knitting, and what could happen to bond and equity markets if the canary croaks.
“I’m From the Federal Reserve and I’m Here to Help”
Most Americans would probably agree, if the Federal Reserve hadn’t come to the rescue in the 2008 financial crisis, the United States (and the world) would have sunk into another Great Depression.
However, most Americans don’t realize that the Fed caused the financial crisis of 2008 by keeping interest rates artificially too low for too long, fostering “irrational exuberance” and insanely leveraged mortgage bubbles.
How do you know I’m telling you the truth?
Ask yourself two questions:
- What caused the financial crisis?
- Where was ground zero?
If you don’t immediately and automatically, instinctively and historically know the answers to both questions, I’m afraid you don’t know what you don’t know.
The Fed’s Announced Triple Mandate is the Final Nail in the Free Market’s Coffin
The Federal Reserve System, the privately-owned central bank that most Americans believe is a department of the U.S. government, just publicly gave itself the last hammer it needs to nail shut the coffin they shoved free markets into.
By admitting it’s going to “think about financial conditions,” meaning the stock market, when exercising control over interest rates, the Federal debt, consumer and producer prices, employment, the economy, and investor returns, the Fed cemented its position as chief of the new command economy.
The Stock Market Needs Another Exchange Like It Needs a Hole in the Head
As if thirteen so-called “exchanges” and forty “dark pools” aren’t enough, here comes the Members Exchange (MEMX).
Founding members of Bank of America’s Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, UBS Group, Charles Schwab, TD Ameritrade, E*Trade Financial, Fidelity Investments, Citadel Securities, and Virtu Financial claim the new trading venue slated to open in 2020 will feature lower costs, greater transparency, and simplified order types.
Seems all well and good, but what they’re never going to admit is why they’re really pushing another exchange into an already fragmented, liquidity draining, churning ocean of viciously competing trading venues.
But I’ll tell you.
IBM is Going Right Back to the Dump Where it Belongs
On Wednesday, shares of International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE:IBM) jumped more than 10% on its better-than-expected earnings report.
The stock closed at $133.34, up 8.8% on the day.
Calling that remarkable is like calling the Grand Canyon a ditch.
It’s remarkably ridiculous, because IBM is the worst managed company in America – and its stock is heading right back where it belongs, in the garbage heap.
And if you play your cards right, you could make a quick killing as it falls…
How Do Ya Like Them Apples? Here’s Why This This Company Went Rotten
Poor, tarnished Apple Inc. (NasdaqGS:AAPL).
It did everything right for decades, making itself the first company in the history of the world to be worth one trillion dollars.
Then it fell off analysts’ conviction buy lists, and Apple’s stock got hammered good and hard.
What suddenly happened to the most valuable company in the world? How could it lose almost $300 billion in value in a matter of weeks?
Truthfully, what happened to Apple was mostly its own fault. Sure enough, it got caught up (or down as the case may be) in the market’s October selloff, but that wasn’t unexpected.
In hindsight, Apple held up better than the market last October and better than its FAANG family members did.
What took the shine right off the most valuable company in the world, after its all-time high of $233.47 in October, was the company’s announcement on November 1, 2018, not a month after its high water score, that it would no longer breakout iPhone sales in its earnings.
The stock got hammered – hard.
That self-inflicted wound, some say death knell, happened just as the Dow Jones Industrial Average, which had traded down close to 24,000 at the end of October, began a robust rally.
Only a week and a half into November, the Dow got back above 26,000.
Apple, not so much. In fact, not at all. Apple stock continued to slide, like it was falling off Everest.
The stock traded down to $142, just shy of a 40% dump off its high-flying act.
It’s back up around $155 today.
Is Apple at $155 or just below there a “value” stock? Is it a bargain down by more than 33%?
Or, is Apple too full of worms and worth betting against?
The Death of Jack Bogle and Laying to Rest the Myth of Passive Investing
Last week, the investing world lost a man of conviction, and, for sure, contradictions – a true luminary, a pioneer, an advocate for “Mom-and-Pop” investors, a generous man, and a legend in his own time.
John Clifton Bogle, who preferred to be called Jack, died at the age of 89, leaving behind a lot.
That’s because Jack, who started The Vanguard Group, the $5.3 trillion asset management company that specializes in indexed products for passive investors, left behind an estate worth $80 million.
That’s after giving away half of his Vanguard salary for most of his working career.
But, the legend himself began criticizing the passive investing boom he’s credited with pioneering.
Whether his accumulated apprehensions and market fears will lay the myth of passive investing to rest, he won’t get to see – but we better be watching if the myth turns into a monster.
And, later, I have a special message for you about another hot topic in investing.