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A comical look at Microsoft’s $1B+ acquisitions

Posted by the HUSTLE

on Tuesday, 22 September 2020 7:54

 

Like a spurned lover, Microsoft quickly pivoted from its failed TikTok bid and dropped a cool $7.5B to acquire ZeniMax Media, the parent company of game publisher Bethesda Softworks (Doom, Fallout, Elder Scrolls).

It’s Microsoft’s largest game acquisition ever and the tech giant’s 11th acquisition of $1B+ since 1987.

Here are the others, with our takes on the deals:

  • The priciest (and spammiest) acquisition: LinkedIn for $26.2B in 2016.
  • The “I’ve never heard of this company, but its early employees are def way richer than me” acquisition: Fast Search & Transfer for $1.2B in 2008.
  • The “Are these tech companies or the place we get our eyewear prescriptions done?” acquisitions: Tied — Visio Corp ($1.4B in 1999) and Navision ($1.2B in 2002).
  • The Ron Burgundy “I immediately regret this decision” acquisition: Tied — Skype for $8.5B in 2011 and Nokia for $7.2B in 2014.
  • The “Let’s piss off software engineers” acquisition: GitHub for $7.5B in 2018.
  • The “Parents love this because it’s a nanny substitute” acquisition: Mojang (Minecraft) for $2.5B in 2014.

The “Who needs Zuckerberg when you can have David Sacks?” acquisition: Yammer for $1.2B in 2012.

Understanding Real Estate Cycles

on Friday, 18 September 2020 14:50

Real Estate cycles exist and matter. Eitel Insights identifies those cycles, and correctly identified the Greater Vancouver market peak during 2017. Eitel Insights’ technical forecasts have been so precise that in 11 Great Vancouver markets the actual data has matched forecasted data with over 95% accuracy. An additional 7 markets have realized over 80% of forecasted losses with likely more to come. Dane Eitel will join Michael this Saturday, September 19th to talk Real Estate cycles in both the detached and condo markets.
Saturday Sept 19th  8:30am – 10:00am Pacific
LISTEN LIVE

Haven’t you always wanted to go to Nowhere?

Posted by Jamie Freed, Chen Lin

on Friday, 18 September 2020 6:10

Well – Wait No More!

Travellers snap up Asian airlines’ scenic ‘flights to nowhere’

SYDNEY/SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Qantas Airways Ltd QAN.AX said a seven-hour scenic flight over Australia’s Outback and Great Barrier Reef had sold out in 10 minutes, as it joined a growing trend in Asia offering “flights to nowhere” that take off and land at the same airport.

The concept of scenic flights is not new. Antarctica Flights has chartered Qantas jets for scenic flights over Antarctica for 26 years. An Air New Zealand Ltd AIR.NZ sightseeing flight over Antarctica in 1979 crashed into Mount Erebus, killing all 257 people on board.  Full Story 

 

What JPMorgan Has To Say About Young Employees Working From Home

Posted by Shivdeep Dhaliwal

on Tuesday, 15 September 2020 8:11

JPMorgan Chase & Co says it has noticed a troubling pattern with its work-from-home employees, particularly those who are of a younger age, Bloomberg reported Monday.

What Happened: CEO Jamie Dimon told analysts Keefe, Bruyette & Woods in a private meeting that productivity was particularly affected on Mondays and Fridays, according to Bloomberg.

“The WFH lifestyle seems to have impacted younger employees [at JPMorgan], and overall productivity and ‘creative combustion’ has taken a hit,” KBW Managing Director Brian Kleinhanzl wrote to clients in a note, citing the meeting with Dimon.

JPMorgan spokesman Michael Fusco told Bloomberg that the productivity of employees was affected “in general, not just younger employees,” but added that younger workers “could be disadvantaged by missed learning opportunities” as they were not in offices….CLICK for complete article

Make no mistake—this is a stock market bubble.

Posted by Ben Levisohn

on Tuesday, 15 September 2020 7:03

The Stock Market Bubble —and How to Play It

Every stock market bubble begins with a story, and make no mistake—this is a stock market bubble.

The story began easily enough, if not with “once upon a time.” A virus forced the country to shut down and accelerated the gains in a select few technology stocks that are uniquely capable of thriving with everyone stuck at home. A central bank took quick action to prevent financial markets from seizing up, pushing interest rates about as low as they could go. That helped lift the stocks of companies that are growing, including chiefly the aforementioned tech stocks, even if some have no profits. These stocks were among the first to rally once the stock market bottomed in March.

Now, get ready for the plot twist: Good investment ideas can stop being good ideas if the story goes on for too long. The tech trade—including tech companies that aren’t officially labeled as such—went too far before correcting suddenly in the past two weeks.

After gaining 75.7% from its March 23 low through Sept. 2, the tech-led Nasdaq Composite fell 10%, to 10,847.69, over three trading days, its swiftest correction on record.

But one correction doesn’t mean that the story is over, or that the bubble is ready to burst. To the contrary, the forces that drove stocks such as Apple (ticker: AAPL) and Amazon.com (AMZN) to astonishing heights remain firmly in place. They include the companies’ continued growth, the Federal Reserve’s determination to do whatever it takes to keep the economy afloat, retail investors’ newfound interest in trading, and maybe even a bit of fiscal largess. Stocks will remain volatile, but the tech bubble will continue to inflate.

For an investment bubble to occur, there has to be a widespread belief that a new paradigm has taken hold requiring an adjustment in valuations far beyond what previous fundamentals would imply. This belief needs to engage the imagination of investors beyond Wall Street, and there must be plenty of capital available to chase stock prices higher. The Covid-19 crisis has unlocked all three prerequisites.

Full Story