What we’re reading (7/29)
“Halfway Through Earnings Season, The ‘Peak Everything’ Story May Need To Be Put On Hold” (CNBC). “As has been the case for the last several quarters, analysts have substantially underestimated the extent of the economic recovery. Earnings are coming in 18% above expectations, well above the historic norms of 3% to 5% above expectations…Why does this keep happening? ‘The analysts cover individual companies; they’re not economists,’ said Nick Raich of The Earnings Scout. ‘They have been looking to the companies for guidance, and the company guidance overall has been far too conservative. The expectations for the economy keep getting better, not worse.’”
“Robinhood IPO Prices At $38 A Share” (Wall Street Journal). “The price chosen by the company and its underwriters is at the bottom of the range of $38 to $42 a share they had been targeting. It pegs Robinhood’s valuation at about $32 billion, far higher than the nearly $12 billion it fetched in a funding round a year ago but below the lofty prior expectations of some investors and bankers.”
“Nikola Founder Trevor Milton Indicted In US For Misleading Investors” (Reuters). “Trevor Milton, the founder of electric truck maker Nikola Corp, has been indicted on charges of making false and misleading statements to investors, the U.S. Department of Justice said on Thursday. The indictment said that, from November 2019 to September 2020, Milton schemed to defraud investors into buying Nikola shares through statements about the company's product and technology development.”
“All It Took For Credit Suisse To Lose $5.5 Billion Was For People To Ignore Huge Risks Piling Up That Weren’t Making The Bank Any Money” (Dealbreaker). “Did you think that $5.5 billion disasters that lead to house-cleanings at both the investment bank and compliance department, cutting the prime brokerage business to the bone, an avalanche of ominous letters and phone calls from regulators and prosecutors, and enough fury to cause even the Swiss to consider—however briefly—actually holding bankers to account just sort of, you know, happen[?]…well, uh, you pretty much hit the nail on the head, according to Credit Suisse’s in-house investigation into the Archegos Capital Management debacle.”
“The Big Boat Is Back: Ever Given Finally Arrives In Rotterdam After Disastrous And Costly Suez Canal Incident” (Business Insider). “The Ever Given, which blocked cargo traffic for six days earlier this year after getting stuck in the Suez Canal, has finally arrived at the Dutch port of Rotterdam, its original destination. The boat docked at Rotterdam's ECT Delta terminal on Thursday morning, per Reuters. It will be there unloading its cargo until August 3, after which it will move on to its next destination, Felixstowe, in the UK.”
