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Business

Apple, Tesla and Facebook ready to report record sales in busiest week of earnings

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U.S. companies have barely managed to eke out positive earnings growth so far in this quarterly results season, but the big test arrives in the week ahead.

Nearly a quarter of the S&P 500
SPX,
-0.30%
is set to report results, with those companies representing 39% of the index by market value, according to calculations based on FactSet data. Given that the S&P 500 is weighted by market capitalization, this roster of companies will have an outsize impact on the profit trajectory for the index.

Earnings are expected to decline for the fourth consecutive quarter once all results are in for the latest period, but those companies that have reported thus far have been beating expectations in aggregate.

The FactSet consensus now models a 5% earnings decline for the index, compared with the 6.3% drop projected a week ago. If profit growth for the S&P 500 ultimately ends up positive, it would mark an end to the current earnings recession, which takes place when corporate profits drop for two or more consecutive quarters.

Apple Inc.
AAPL,
+1.61%
and Facebook Inc.
FB,
+0.60%
are among the highlights of next week’s slate, along with Tesla Inc.
TSLA,
+0.20%,
which will deliver results for the first time since it became a member of the S&P 500. All three high-profile companies are scheduled to report Wednesday afternoon and expected to have produced record revenue in the holiday quarter.

The holiday quarter is always crucial for Apple, which releases new iPhones in the fall. With a slightly later launch than usual this year due to the pandemic pushing sales into the period, Apple is widely expected to post its largest quarterly revenue total ever and its first ever total above $100 billion. The technology giant likely also continued to see benefits from remote-work and remote-schooling trends, which have driven strong iPad and Mac sales throughout the COVID-19 crisis.

Full preview: Get ready for Apple’s first $100 billion quarter in history

Facebook is also expected to post what should easily be a record quarter given strong digital advertising trends during the holiday period. Still, the company will face questions about user engagement and a decision to ban Donald Trump from the platform indefinitely over his role in inciting the violent riot at the U.S. Capitol. Bernstein analyst Mark Shmulik points to “continued usage fatigue” across social media as well as a “conversation skewed towards unmonetizable political events.”

Full preview: Facebook earnings still flourishing amid pandemic, economic slowdown and antitrust scrutiny

Tesla already disclosed delivery numbers for the full year that came in ahead of analyst expectations, and all eyes will be on the company’s outlook for 2021. RBC Capital Markets analyst Joseph Spak anticipates a delivery forecast of 825,000 to 875,000 million units for the full year, even though Chief Executive Elon Musk said on Tesla’s last earnings call that an analyst was “not far off” for expecting 840,000 to a million deliveries during 2021.

Full preview: Can Tesla’s sales growth match stock’s rise?

Here’s what else to watch for in the week ahead, which brings reports from 117 members of the S&P 500 and 13 Dow Jones Industrial Average
DJIA,
-0.57%
components.

Up in the air

Boeing Co.’s
BA,
-0.76%
journey remains turbulent even as the company’s 737-MAX jets were recertified after being grounded for almost two years. Though the company began deliveries of these aircraft, “the pace of delivering all 450 parked 737-MAX will be dictated by airline customers ability to absorb aircraft as well as air traffic demand,” according to Benchmark Company analyst Josh Sullivan.

Boeing’s Wednesday morning report will offer perspective on the company’s recovery expectations amid the pandemic, though Sullivan sees volatility ahead stemming from a recent equity offering and the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on airlines.

The fourth-quarter reports from U.S. airlines have been bleak so far, and American Airlines Group Inc.
AAL,
-0.06%
and Southwest Airlines Co.
LUV,
-0.80%
offer more on Thursday morning.

Can you hear me now?

Verizon Communications Inc.
VZ,
+0.35%
leads off a busy week of telecommunications earnings Tuesday morning, followed by AT&T Inc.
T,
+0.35%
Wednesday morning and Comcast Corp.
CMCSA,
-0.92%
Thursday morning.

For the wireless carriers, a key issue will be the impact of iPhone 12 promotions on recent results. Investors will also be looking for information about a recent wireless auction offering spectrum that will be crucial for 5G network deployments. Though the bids haven’t been made public yet, the auction drove record spending and AT&T and Verizon are both expected to have paid up handsomely to assert their standing. The question for investors is what impact these bids will have on the companies’ financial positioning.

Full preview: AT&T earnings to kick off a defining year for telecom giant

AT&T and Comcast have more media exposure than Verizon, and those two companies have been trying to contend with the new realities brought on by the pandemic. Both companies have made moves to emphasize streaming more with their film slates given theater closures, and the financial implications of these moves will be worth watching.

Paying up

The evolving situation with the pandemic is reflected perhaps no more clearly than in the results of Visa Inc.
V,
-1.52%,
Mastercard Inc.
MA,
-1.63%,
and American Express Co.
AXP,
-1.01%,
which have a pulse on the global consumer spending landscape. The companies should provide insight on a travel recovery toward the end of the year, as well as the impact of recent lockdowns.

Susquehanna analyst James Friedman wrote recently that his Mastercard revenue projection of $3.97 billion is slightly below the consensus view, though he also asked: “does anyone really care about Q4 2020?” Friedman is upbeat about mobile-payments and online-shopping dynamics that suggest “positive trends ahead” for Mastercard, which reports Thursday morning. Visa follows that afternoon, while American Express kicks of the week with its Tuesday morning report.

The chip saga continues

Advanced Micro Devices Inc.
AMD,
+1.38%
is poised to keep benefiting from Intel Corp.’s
INTC,
-9.29%
stumbles, which analysts expect to last for some time even as Intel prepares for a new, technology-oriented chief executive to take the helm.

“We have low confidence that Intel will be able to close that transistor gap quickly, and therefore expect it to continue to lose share for the foreseeable future,” Jefferies analyst Mark Lipacis wrote after Intel’s latest earnings report. AMD will show how that dynamic has played out on its side of the equation when it posts numbers Tuesday afternoon.

Full preview: If Intel gets its act together, can AMD maintain swollen valuation?

Other chip makers reporting in the week ahead include Texas Instruments Inc.
TXN,
-1.31%
on Tuesday afternoon; Xilinx Inc.
XLNX,
+1.26%,
which is in line to be acquired by AMD, on Wednesday afternoon report, when it will be joined by chip-equipment maker Lam Research Corp.
LRCX,
-0.06%
; and Western Digital Corp.
WDC,
-5.23%
on Thursday afternoon.

Busy week for the Dow

Among the 13 members of the Dow Jones Industrial Average
DJIA,
-0.57%
set to report this week are 3M Co
MMM,
-0.96%.
, Johnson & Johnson
JNJ,
+1.13%,
American Express, Verizon, and Microsoft Corp.
MSFT,
+0.44%,
all of which report Tuesday.

“Near term, we see the company’s COVID-19 vaccine readout as a key upcoming catalyst and believe efficacy in the 80%+ range would suggest a clear role for the product in the market,” J.P. Morgan analyst Chris Schott wrote of Johnson & Johnson.

Cowen & Co. analyst J. Derrick Wood sees tough comparisons for Microsoft especially in its Azure and server businesses, though he expects a more favorable situation going forward.

Full preview: SolarWinds hack may actually be a good thing for Microsoft

Wednesday brings results from Boeing and Apple, while Thursday features McDonald’s Corp.
MCD,
-0.07%,
Dow Inc.
DOW,
-0.10%,
and Visa. Honeywell International Inc.
HON,
-1.45%,
Chevron Corp.
CVX,
-0.30%,
and Caterpillar Inc.
CAT,
-0.13%
round out the week Friday morning.

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Business

Bitcoin on track for biggest weekly fall since September as Janet Yellen and ‘double spend’ spook traders | Currency News | Financial and Business News

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Bitcoin has had a volatile couple of weeks after hitting a record high of close to $42,000

R.Tsubin/Getty Images

The bitcoin price was set for its biggest one-week fall since September on Friday morning, having slipped around 9% since Monday.

Bitcoin – which hit an all-time high of close to $42,000 on January 8 – tumbled to around $28,000 in early Asia trading.

But it then recovered to around $32,537 by Friday morning. That means it is down about 9.2% since Monday, putting it on course for the the biggest weekly drop since declining by 12% in September, according to TradingView data.

Should the price tumble back towards the lows seen in the Asia session, the bitcoin price could be heading for its worst week since it crashed 33% in March 2020.

Read More: We spoke to Winklevoss-backed crypto platform Gemini about bitcoin, how to use stable coins, and why regulation won’t kill the boom in digital currencies

Bitcoin came under selling pressure this week after Janet Yellen, Joe Biden’s pick for Treasury secretary, suggested the use of cryptocurrencies should be “curtailed” because they were used mainly for “illicit financing”.

Many analysts put bitcoin’s overnight slide down to a report by BitMEX Research that suggested a flaw called “double spend” – when someone is able to spend the same coin twice – had occurred in the cryptocurrency’s blockchain.

Yet BitMEX later said it the double spend could have in fact been another type of less worrying transaction.

Bitcoin has soared in recent months, rising from a 2020 low of below $4,000 in March to more than $41,000 earlier this month. Overall, it is up around 290% in the last year.

Fellow cryptocurrency Ethereum was around 5% higher on Friday morning to $1,250. That was shy of an all-time high of more than $1,430 hit earlier this week.

Advocates say cryptocurrencies are fast becoming safe-haven assets that can protect investors’ portfolios against the risk of inflation and currency devaluation triggered by the unprecedented fiscal and monetary stimulus unleashed during the coronavirus pandemic.

They point to a growing number of institutional investors showing interest in Bitcoin. BlackRock on Wednesday moved to add Bitcoin futures to two of its funds, highlighting the demand for the currency.

Yet regulators and critics have warned that cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin have no fundamental factors driving their value and are highly volatile, meaning investors could “lose all their money”.

Read More: The chief investment strategist at a $9.6 billion volatility-focused money manager breaks down why the stock market is poised to get more chaotic in 2021 – and shares how investors can take advantage of it

Nonetheless, market interest has picked up sharply in recent months. Some analysts said the recent fall could be an opportunity.

“The current correction is a blessing for those who have missed the rally during which the cryptocurrency doubled from its previous high, a move from $20,000 to $40,000,” said Naeem Aslam, chief market analyst at Avatrade.

Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at currency platform Oanda, said: “We may see a small rebound now, just as we did earlier this month.

“But the price action we’ve seen this month suggests there’s some nervousness around these levels. It will certainly be an interesting watch over the coming weeks.”



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Business

Ford will recall 3 million vehicles for airbag problems, after losing fight with safety regulator

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The move comes after the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on Tuesday rejected Ford’s argument that this version of the airbags didn’t need to be replaced.

The recall centers on a defect in airbags made by Takata, a now-bankrupt Japanese manufacturer. Another version of the Takata airbag had a defect in the inflator that caused a number of the bags to explode, spraying shrapnel through the vehicle. In addition to the 18 deaths, more than 400 drivers or passengers have been injured, including being blinded or maimed.
Recalls linked to the Takata airbags began in 2014, and, in aggregate, ultimately became the largest auto recall in history. Prior to this week’s announcement, the US portion of the recall had already reached 67 million airbags in more than 40 million vehicles.

Although the Takata airbags used by Ford are a different but similar version from those involved in the previous recalls, safety regulators said they still pose a risk.

The NHTSA in November rejected a similar appeal by General Motors (GM), forcing the automaker to recall 7 million pickups and SUVs. The agency has also rejected an appeal from Mazda, but that covered only 5,800 US pickups that were built for the automaker.

Ford models included in the recall

The models covered by the recall include the 2007 to 2011 Ford Ranger, the 2006 to 2012 Ford Fusion, the 2006 to 2012 Lincoln Zephyr, the 2007 to 2010 Ford Edge and the 2007 to 2010 Lincoln MKX. The Mazda vehicles being recalled are the 2007 to 2009 B-Series pickup trucks.

Owners will be notified if their vehicle is included in the recall, or they can enter the VIN number on this site. Ford will repair the airbags, and vehicle owners will not be charged.

It will cost Ford $610 million to replace the airbags as a result of NHTSA’s decision. Because of Takata’s bankruptcy, Ford is shouldering all costs itself.

“Safety is always a top priority,” said Ford spokesperson Monique Brentley. “Unlike other Takata passenger-side airbag parts previously under recall, these driver-side airbags contain a moisture-absorbing [material] and perform differently. We believe our extensive data demonstrated that a safety recall was not warranted for the driver-side airbag. However, we respect NHTSA’s decision and will issue a recall.”

‘The severity of the consequence’

NHTSA officials, however, said the airbags become more subject to malfunction over time, and that the “severity of the consequences” to passengers and drivers when the inflators rupture was too serious. “What Ford presents here, while valuable and informative in certain respects, suffers from far too many shortcomings,” the agency wrote in its decision.

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US

Bernie Sanders’ mittens are sold out

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“Thanks for all the interest in Bernie’s mittens!” Jen Ellis wrote on Twitter. “I’m so flattered that Bernie wore them to the inauguration. Sadly, I have no more mittens for sale. There are a lot of great crafters on ETSY who make them.”
A few years ago, Ellis, who teaches second grade, gave the Vermont senator the patterned, hand-knit “smittens” — part mittens, part sweater — on the campaign trail. But she didn’t expect he’d start wearing them at high-profile events like the inauguration. The mittens are made from repurposed wool sweaters and lined with fleece made from recycled plastic bottles, she said in a tweet last year.
The image is also being sold on T-shirts, mugs and as a $25 bobble head. Some sellers on Etsy are already touting “Bernie inspired” mittens. Last year, online merchants cashed in on the fly that buzzed on former Vice President Mike Pence during the debate against Kamala Harris. The Biden campaign sold more than 35,000 fly swatters with the slogan, “truth over flies,” a play on the campaign’s slogan “truth over lies.”
Ellis couldn’t be reached for comment, but she told the Jewish Insider that “there’s no possible way I could make 6,000 pairs of mittens, and every time I go into my email, another several hundred people have emailed me.”

“I hate to disappoint people, but the mittens, they’re one of a kind and they’re unique and, sometimes in this world, you just can’t get everything you want,” she told the news site.

The virality and levity of the Bernie meme is reminiscent of more carefree days of the internet. As one Twitter user captured it, “The Bernie Sanders memes and photoshops are what the world needs right now.”
This isn’t the first time the mittens have been in the spotlight either. Last year, Sanders wore them to the Women’s March in Portsmouth, New Hampshire; some called the mittens “oversized mittens” and a dedicated Twitter account, @BerniesMittens, was born. At the time, Ellis said she was “humbled by the support” and “what started out as a simple act of kindness more than 2 years ago has grown into something beyond my imagination.”

She added: “This mitten frenzy is really distracting me from getting my mid-year report cards done.”

In a statement to CNN on Thursday, Sanders said the meme this week “makes people aware that we make good mittens in Vermont. … We have some good coats as well.”



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Business

Eurozone Flash PMIs January 2020: Business activity shrinks again

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A man over 75 years receives a coronavirus (Covid-19) vaccine shot in Strasbourg, France.

Anadolu Agency | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images

LONDON — Business activity in the euro zone fell to a two-month low in January, preliminary data showed on Friday, on the back of stricter coronavirus-related lockdowns.

The region is grappling with growing Covid-19 infection rates and tighter restrictions as new strains of the virus spread, causing further economic pain.

Markit’s flash composite PMI for the euro zone, which looks at activity across both manufacturing and services, dropped to 47.5 January, versus 49.1 in December. A reading below 50 represents a contraction in activity.

Chris Williamson, chief business economist at IHS Markit, said a double-dip recession for the euro zone was looking “increasingly inevitable.”

“Tighter Covid-19 restrictions took a further toll on businesses in January,” he said in a statement.

“Output fell at an increased rate, led by worsening conditions in the service sector and a weakening of manufacturing growth to the lowest seen so far in the sector’s seven-month recovery.”

European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde acknowledged on Thursday that the pandemic still posed “serious risks” to the euro zone economy.

In addition to the new Covid variants, there are also concerns over a slow vaccination roll-out across the European Union.

“In this environment ample monetary stimulus remains essential,” Lagarde said. The ECB decided at a meeting on Thursday to keep interest rates and its wider stimulus programs unchanged for now, having boosted its support in December.

The ECB expects the euro zone’s GDP (gross domestic product) to expand by 3.9% in 2021, and 2.1% in 2022. This is after a contraction of 7.3% last year. However, these forecasts are dependent on the evolution of the pandemic.

France hires more

Earlier, France’s business activity data also came in at a two-month low, reflecting the imposition of stricter curfews across the country. The country’s composite PMI for January was 47, making a contraction.

However, French businesses hired more employees in January — the first increase in job figures in almost a year.

“The fact that firms have returned to recruitment activity points to some confidence in an economic recovery in the second half of this year,” Eliot Kerr, economist at IHS Markit said, in a statement.

In Germany, business activity managed to grow slightly in January, with the flash composite output index coming in at 50.8. However, the reading represented a seven-month low for Europe’s economic engine.

Phil Smith, associate director at IHS Markit, highlighted a slower momentum in manufacturing activity in the country, and a continued hit to the services sector during January.

“All in all, the German economy has made a slow start to the year, and the extension of the current containment measures until at least mid-February means this looks like being the picture for several more weeks to come,” he said.

The German government decided some days ago to extend the national lockdown until Feb. 14.

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Technology

GOT7’s Jackson’s Label TEAM WANG Signs Business Agreement With Sublime Artist Agency

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GOT7’s Jackson is confirmed to work with Sublime Artist Agency!

It was revealed earlier in the week that Sublime Artist Agency was discussing a business agreement with Jackson’s label TEAM WANG. It was previously also confirmed that fellow GOT7 member Youngjae signed an exclusive contract with the agency.

On January 22, Sublime Artist Agency officially announced, “We will work together on global business, including Korea and China, as a partner of TEAM WANG, the label personally established and run by Jackson.”

The agency continued, “As both are comprehensive entertainment companies that simultaneously work on entertainment management along with production, advertising agency business, developing new artists, and more, we anticipate collaboration in diverse fields.”

Following the news, Jackson took to social media to share his comments:

Looking forward to Jackson’s future activities!

Source (1)

How does this article make you feel?



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World

World leaders cheer US return to climate fight under Biden

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BERLIN (AP) — World leaders breathed an audible sigh of relief that the United States under President Joe Biden is rejoining the global effort to curb climate change, a cause that his predecessor had shunned over the past four years.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and French President Emmanuel Macron were among those welcoming Biden’s decision to rejoin the the Paris climate accord, reversing a key Trump policy in the first hours of his presidency Wednesday.

“Rejoining the Paris Agreement is hugely positive news,” tweeted Johnson, whose country is hosting this year’s U.N. climate summit.

Macron said that with Biden, “we will be stronger to face the challenges of our time. Stronger to build our future. Stronger to protect our planet.”

The Paris accord, forged in the French capital in 2015, commits countries to put forward plans for reducing their emissions of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, which is released from burning fossil fuels.

As president, Donald Trump questioned the scientific warnings about man-made global warming, at times accusing other countries of using the Paris accord as a club to hurt Washington. The U.S. formally left the pact in November.

“The United States departure from it has definitely diminished our capacities to change things, concretely to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions,” said Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo.

“Now we are dealing with an administration that is conscious of what is at stake and that is very committed to use the voice of the United States, a voice that is very powerful on the international level,” she said.

Biden put the fight against climate change at the center of his presidential campaign and on Wednesday immediately launched a series of climate-friendly efforts to bring Washington back in step with the rest of the world on the issue.

“A cry for survival comes from the planet itself,” Biden said in his inaugural address. “A cry that can’t be any more desperate or any more clear now.”

Experts say any international efforts to keep global warming well below 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 Fahrenheit), ideally 1.5C (2.7F), as agreed in the Paris accord would struggle without the contribution of U.S., which is the world’s second biggest carbon emitter.

Scientists say time is running out to reach that goal because the world has already warmed 1.2 C (2.2 F) since pre-industrial times.

Of particular importance is deforestation in the vast Amazon rainforest. Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has faced criticism from global leaders, including Biden before his election victory, and non-profit organizations for rising deforestation.

Bolsonaro has been dismissive of international efforts to steer Brazil’s management of the huge rainforest, saying its resources must be harnessed to support growth and economic development. Still, he sent a letter to Biden on Wednesday urging that the two countries continue their “partnership in favor of sustainable development and protection of the environment, especially of the Amazon.”

“I stress that Brazil has shown its commitment with the Paris Accord after the introduction of its new national goals,” Bolsonaro added in the letter, which he published on his social media channels.

Italy said the U.S. return to the Paris accord would help other countries reach their own climate commitments. “Italy looks forward to working with the U.S. to build a sustainable planet and ensure a better future for the next generations,” Premier Giuseppe Conte tweeted.

The Vatican, too, was clearly pleased given the decision aligns with Pope Francis’ environmental agenda and belief in multilateral diplomacy. In a front-page editorial in Wednesday’s L’Osservatore Romano, Vatican deputy editorial director Alessandro Gisotti noted that Biden’s decision to rejoin Paris “converges with Pope Francis’ commitment in favor of the custody of our common home.”

German Chancellor Angela Merkel was more muted in her reaction, noting on Thursday that her government would “probably have a more similar opinion” with Biden on issues such as the Paris climate accord, migration and the World Health Organization.

Youth activists who have been at the forefront of demanding leaders take the threat of global warming seriously said they now want to see concrete action from Washington.

“Many countries signed the Paris Agreement and they are still part of the Paris Agreement, but they make very free interpretations of what that implies,” said Juan Aguilera, one of the organizers of the Fridays for Future movement in Spain. “In many cases, signing it has become a show, because at the end of the day the concrete measures that are being taken, at least in the short term, are not satisfactory.”

Biden has appointed a large team to tackle climate change both on the domestic and international front. Former Secretary of State John Kerry, named as the president’s special climate envoy, on Thursday took part in a virtual event with Italian industry at which he touted the ‘green economy’ as an engine for jobs and said the U.S. planned to make up for time lost over the past four years.

Organizers of a meeting Monday on adapting to climate change said they hoped Kerry would take part, too, and Biden himself has talked about inviting world leaders to a summit on the issue within his first 100 days in office.

Over the coming months the U.S. allies and rivals will closely watch to see by how much the administration offers to cut its emissions in the coming decade. A firm number is expected to be announced before the U.N. climate summit taking place in Glasgow, Scotland, in November.

Veterans of such gatherings noted the formidable diplomatic clout that the U.S. has managed to bring to them in the past.

Farhana Yamin, a British lawyer who served as adviser to the Marshall Islands in the Paris negotiations, said she left the climate talks in 2018 feeling “disillusioned” not only by the U.S. withdrawal but also by how other countries, including her own, were failing to live up to the agreed goals.

“I wish there were more progress here in the UK,” she said, adding she hoped that the change in the White House would mean others would increase their ambition on climate, too. “The U.S. always has massive influence on its allies.”

___

Associated Press writer Karl Ritter and Nicole Winfield in Rome, Oleg Cetinic in Paris, Aritz Parra in Madrid and David Biller in Rio de Janeiro contributed to this report.

___

Follow AP’s climate coverage at https://www.apnews.com/Climate

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US

Trump business revenues plunged during pandemic, final disclosure reveals

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Former President Donald Trump’s business empire lost significant revenue during the pandemic, as the virus and the failed response to it cost his own interests money, according to a financial disclosure document released after he left office Wednesday.

Most of his core golf and hotel properties saw steep declines as the virus and lockdown restrictions kept consumers home and suspended discretionary travel.

Compared to his disclosure from the year prior, revenues at the Trump National Doral Miami golf course in Florida declined from $77 million to $44 million. Trump’s Turnberry golf club in Scotland saw revenues fall from $25 million to just under $10 million.

Revenues also declined from $40.5 million to $15 million at Trump’s hotel at the leased Old Post Office location in Washington, D.C.

Total revenue fell at the Trump International Hotel & Tower Chicago hotel-condo last year, with hotel management fees tumbling from nearly $2 million to about half a million, and condo management fees rising slightly.

Business increased in some red state locations, such as his golf club in Charlotte, North Carolina, where revenues rose from $12 million to $13 million. Revenues at Mar-a-Lago, his private club in Florida and new residence, rose $3 million.

But overall, the net impact was negative, with Trump’s declared revenue falling from a reported $445 million to $278 million.

The Trump Organization did not immediately respond to an NBC News request for comment.

The documents detail the buying and selling of various bonds and exchange traded funds during 2020 as the S&P 500 index gyrated from 2,800 points at the beginning of the year, fell nearly 20 percent as the virus lockdowns and layoffs hit, then recovered to around 3,700 on Jan. 15, the day Trump signed the document.

The disclosure shows active loans at several banks, some of which, including Deutsche and Professional, have sworn off doing future business with Trump.

The documents show one financial institution, Investors Savings Bank, extending for one year the term of a loan set to expire in 2020 — at a slightly higher interest rate. The mortgage was for between $5 million and $25 million for Trump Park Avenue. The bank did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The document is a 79-page final glimpse of Trump’s reported finances as he returns to life as a private citizen and grapples with how to capitalize on his altered brand, post-presidency.

It also provides details about several gifts Trump and his family accepted last year. They include a $25,000 “bronze statue depicting flag raising over Iwo Jima” from a Denver-based veterans association, a Mac Pro from Apple CEO Tim Cook, and a $500 customized golf club from Dennis Muilenburg, the disgraced former CEO of Boeing.

Ben Popken

Ben Popken is a senior business reporter for NBC News.



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Business

Bitcoin falls 11% after report suggests a critical flaw in the cryptocurrency called ‘double spend’ may have occurred | Currency News | Financial and Business News

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Lucas Jackson/Reuters

  • Bitcoin fell as much as 11% on Thursday after a report from BitMEX Research suggested that a critical flaw called “double spend” had occurred in the Bitcoin blockchain.
  • Double spend is a highly feared scenario where a user is able to spend their bitcoins more than once.
  • A double-spend event has not been confirmed, and BitMEX has given mixed messages.
  • Sign up here for our daily newsletter, 10 Things Before the Opening Bell.

Bitcoin fell as much as 11% on Thursday, hitting its lowest level in nearly three weeks, as the popular cryptocurrency was hit with a double whammy that jolted faith in its user base.

First, Janet Yellen, President Joe Biden’s nominee for treasury secretary, suggested during her confirmation hearing on Tuesday that lawmakers “curtail” the use of Bitcoin because of its use in illicit activities.

And second, an unconfirmed report from BitMEX Research on Wednesday suggested that a critical flaw called “double spend” had occurred in the Bitcoin blockchain.

Double spend is when someone is able to spend the same bitcoin twice. It is a feared and dire scenario for the digital asset, and the blockchain was thought to have solved the issue when Satoshi Nakamoto published the Bitcoin white paper in 2009.

Early attempts to launch a digital cash system were ultimately halted by vulnerabilities that could have enabled double spending and undermined faith in the system.

BitMEX Research tweeted that “it appears as if a small double spend of around 0.00062063 BTC ($21) was detected.”

Read more: GOLDMAN SACHS: These 22 stocks still haven’t recovered to pre-pandemic levels – and are set to explode amid higher earnings in 2021 as the economy recovers

BitMEX later said it appeared that the double spend was actually an RBF transaction, which is when an unconfirmed bitcoin transaction is replaced with a new transfer paying a higher fee. But BitMEX’s Fork Monitor said that “no (RBF) fee bumps have been detected.”

BitMEX said in another tweet: “A transaction in the losing chain sent 0.00062063 BTC to the address 1D6aebVY5DbS1v7rNTnX2xeYcfWM3os1va, and a transaction in the winning chain which spent the same inputs only sent 0.00014499 BTC to this address.”

If the double spend did in fact occur, it could be a fatal blow to the popular cryptocurrency, indicating that the flaw Nakamoto set out to solve remains a vulnerability that could crush confidence in the asset.

Meanwhile, institutional investors continue to gain exposure to bitcoin. Filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday said BlackRock had enabled two of its mutual funds to invest in the cryptocurrency.

Read more: We spoke to the Winklevoss-backed crypto platform Gemini about Bitcoin, how to use stable coins, and why regulation won’t kill the boom in digital currencies

Markets Insider



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