What we’re reading (10/13)
“One Of The Year’s Worst Short Bets Defies Scathing Reports And An SEC Investigation” (Wall Street Journal). “No stock has been more heavily attacked by activist short sellers this year than GSX Techedu Inc., a New York-listed Chinese tutoring company. So far, GSX has come out on top. After quintupling this year, it is one of the world’s most valuable education businesses, with a market capitalization of $27.3 billion. ‘Shorting this, it has been just a nightmare,’ said Richard Smatt, a mathematics professor at Flagler College in St. Augustine, Fla., who said he is sitting on tens of thousands of dollars in unrealized losses on GSX.”
“Three Rockefellers Say Banks Must Stop Financing Fossil Fuels” (New York Times). “One hundred years ago, as a deadly influenza gripped the world and the stock market dropped precipitously, our great-grandfather John D. Rockefeller Jr. began investing in New York banks to diversify the family’s business away from fossil fuels in the midst of the economic uncertainty…The similarities today are striking. A pandemic has killed more than a million people across the world and shows no signs of abating, and unease surrounds the economy. But that anxiety is not merely a consequence of the pandemic. The long-term outlook for the economy is clouded by a warming climate and its foreseen consequences.”
“Tesla’s Debt Close To Investment Grade After S&P Upgrade” (MarketWatch). “S&P Global Ratings on Monday raised its Tesla Inc. debt ratings to BB-, from B+, leaving the Silicon Valley car maker’s bonds two notches from investment grade. ‘Improved execution, increasingly efficient production, and global expansion continue to strengthen the company’s competitive position,’ S&P said.”
“Invesco Is Launching A New Nasdaq ETF To Capitalize On The Tech Craze” (CNBC). “The Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) started tracking the NASDAQ-100 Index in 1999. Since then, it’s become the fifth-largest ETF listed in the U.S., with $135 billion in assets under management. Now Invesco is looking to capitalize on the interest in technology and growth stocks by offering a new ‘junior’ QQQ.”
“U.S. Inflation Gauge Increases At Slowest Pace In Four Months” (Bloomberg). “A key measure of U.S. consumer prices rose in September at the slowest pace in four months, signaling little threat of accelerating inflation as the economy recovers. The consumer price index rose 0.2% from the prior month after a 0.4% gain in August. Compared with a year earlier, the gauge increased 1.4%, after August’s 1.3% rise.”
