What we’re reading (7/17)
“The True Story Of The Heartthrob Prince Of Qatar And His Time at USC” (Los Angeles Times). Multi-hundred-thousand dollar jaunts to Las Vegas, a long-term stay at the Beverly Wilshire for an entire entourage, slush funds, DMV bribery, an organ transplant purchase, and approximately zero time in class—the gripping story of Qatari Prince Sheikh Khalifa bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani’s (KHK’s) time in the City of Angels.
“Twitter Hackers Who Targeted Elon Musk And Others Received $121,000 In Bitcoin, Analysis Shows” (CNBC). BTC transactions are irreversible. But they are also public record. A review of the public ledger reveals the hack, which apparently involved at least one Twitter insider, only netted about $121K.
“Big Blank Checks” (DealBook). Special purpose acquisition vehicles, or “SPACs”—legal entities created to raise capital from public markets with this express purposes of acquiring as-of-yet identified takeover targets—are bigger than ever.
“U.S. Industrial Production Picked Up Again In June” (Wall Street Journal). Factories, mines, and utilities are starting to hum again. The index rose 5.4 percent from May to June on a seasonally-adjusted basis.
“Decade Of The Dollar At Imminent Risk As Uptrend Break Looms” (Bloomberg). Bloomberg says the dollar may be set to depreciate a bit off its long-term rise, but not everybody agrees. Credit Agricole’s FX analyst apparently still thinks the greenback is “the ultimate safe haven.” It’s worth noting the whole premise of Bloomberg’s point may be off—the chart the article itself cites doesn’t suggest a “decade-long uptrend” for USD. Rather, it suggests a pop in 2014, when oil prices fell of a cliff, and a flattening ever since.
