Facebook’ Power Play

Facebook’s Power Play Last week, Facebook [NASDAQ:  FB] finally announced its long-rumored digital currency initiative.  Although bitcoin had been rallying since April, since the announcement it has risen almost 25%, as of this writing.  Why the boost for bitcoin?  Won’t FB’s currency — called “Libra” — be competition for bitcoin?  Read more…

THE NEW ROBOT OVERLORDS

1.  Hong Kong in the crosshairs of the trade war.  Hong Kong is experiencing massive protests against the Chinese government’s erosions of the city’s traditional liberties and democratic governance.  These protests have occasioned the introduction of a bipartisan bill in the U.S. Congress that would strip the city of its Read more…

Morgan Stanley Goes Where the Money Is

Morgan Stanley [NYSE:  MS] is acquiring a Canadian firm, Solium Capital, which manages stock-compensation plans for about 3,000 companies.  Collectively, Solium’s clients have a million employees — disproportionately young, and disproportionately employed in high-tech, high-growth startup companies (including, for example, Nextdoor, Sonos, Dropbox, Stripe, and Instacart).  This acquisition makes sense Read more…