What’s going on? Berkshire Hathaway (Warren Buffett’s investment firm) was revealed to have sold off some of its Apple stock and quietly bought into three other companies. What does that mean? Berkshire Hathaway was selling off some of its stake in Apple, holding on to “just” $120b worth; it also recently sold stakes in JPMorgan…
Author: Finterest
Ep 137: Walmart’s worse-than-expected earnings
What’s going on? Walmart reported worse-than-expected earnings, driving its shares to fall by their biggest one-day drop in almost a year. What does that mean? With groceries, cleaning products, and plenty of other lockdown essentials, Walmart’s been a one-stop shop for Americans throughout the pandemic; especially when fresh government checks encouraged shoppers to buy last quarter….
Ep 136: Airbus’s better-than-expected earnings
What’s going on? Airbus (French aircraft manufacturer) reported better-than-expected earnings, but could still only see the pandemic coming. What does that mean? Good news: Airbus delivered more aircraft than analysts expected last quarter, meaning that Airbus ended up getting more cash than it expected. Bad news: the pandemic is still damaging Airbus’s profits, and the…
Ep 135: Uber losing a major UK Supreme Court ruling
What’s going on? Uber lost a major UK Supreme Court ruling (which has last for 5 years), forcing it to treat the 25 riders, who brought the case, as employees. What does that mean? Uber famously treats its drivers as freelancers, but this court ruling means it’ll have to treat, at least 25 of them,…
Ep 134: SoftBank’s flourishing result
What’s going on? SoftBank – a Japanese conglomerate, reported better-than-expected earnings after its investment in DoorDash really delivered. What does that mean? Both the global rally in tech stocks and the booming demand for IPOs has led to SoftBank’s doing well in private investments, leading to a record profit for its Vision Fund – the…
Ep 133: Shell’s worse-than-expected Q4 performance
What’s going on? Shell’s Q4 earning missed analysts’ expectations with an 87% drop in profit But its dividend is upped. What does that mean? 2020 was hard for oil companies, with ongoing travel restrictions. Shell’s feeling surprisingly optimistic about the scenario of economic recovery by the 2nd half of 2021 with the vaccine. Shell reckons…
Ep 132: Russian Covid-19 Vaccine found highly effective in trial
What’s going on? Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine demonstrated high efficacy and safety in trial, boosting its ambition to roll out the vaccine abroad and curb the pandemic home. What does that mean? Effectiveness In the peer-review study, the vaccine showed: 91.6% effectiveness against symptomatic Covid 100% protection against severe cases 0 serious side effects Commercial…
Journal Report 28: Vietnam’s Mobile money outlook
What’s going on here? Mobile money definition Simply put, imagine that you have reached the payment step for your online shopping experience, and instead of going through multiple verification steps for your bank account to confirm the payment/transfer the money, you only have to click one button on your phone to do the same thing….
Journal Report 27: Vietnam’s Banking digitalization trend
2020 has seen many banks performing digitalization in Vietnam. I’ll summarize my understanding of the implications of this trend. Increase Customer experience Imagine us having to drive to a physical bank branch, park the bike, wait in queue for hours, just to do something super simple (e.g: bank account sign up, borrowing), we would appreciate…
Journal Report 26: Vietnam’s being labeled a currency manipulator
What’s going on here? On December 16, the Treasury issued the Report on Macroeconomic and Foreign Exchange Policies of Major Trading Partners of the United States. Accordingly, Vietnam was identified as a currency manipulator. “Forced” criteria Criteria include: A trade surplus with the US is over 20 billion USD within 12 months. The current account…
with HT 